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M EMOIRS 



ELDER JESSE MERCER, 



BY C. D. MALLARY, 



; NEW-YORK: 

PRINTED BY JOHN GRAY. 

1844. 









COPY RIGHT SECURED, 



2 li 



( 






ADVERTISEMENT. 



The following work was undertaken in accordance with the request and 
appointment of the Baptist State Convention, at its annual session at Lagrange, 
in 1842. Its preparation for the|press has been retarded by some difficulty 
and delay in collecting the necessary materials, by other numerous and press- 
ing duties, but more especially by that feeble state of health, which for many 
years past has imposed upon the writer the necessity of taking much time to 
accomplish even an inconsiderable task. The volume is not altogether what 
the Author could have wished, and what perhaps the public have expected, 
nor what, under different circumstances, the writer could have made it ; yet 
with all its defects, it is hoped that it will be found entertaining to the survi- 
ving friends and acquaintances of Mr. Mercer, and not altogether useless to the 
religious community in general. The work contains some reflections and his- 
torical details not absolutely necessary to illustrate the life and character of 
Mr. Mercer: yet they generally relate to affairs with which he was more or 
less connected, and may be in some degree interesting and useful to Southern 
Baptists, and particularly to the Baptists of Georgia. And it is proper here 
to state, that the Author in preparing the work has had particular reference 
to its usefulness upon that field where it was natural to suppose it would find 
its principal patronage and circulation. On this account, it is to be hoped, that 
the more distant reader will look with forbearance on what might seem to him 
to be the redundances and defects of the publication. 

Numerous quotations from the writings of Mr. Mercer are interspersed 
through the volume — more than what many might deem judicious, though 
fewer than what others no doubt would desire. In the selections, reference 
has been had, in some cases, to thoir practical excellence, in others, to their 
adaptedness to give a clear and impartial view of Mr. Mercer's various reli- 
gious opinions. After all, these quotations constitute but a very small portion 



IT ADVERTISEMK.X I 

of hi» writings, and would not therefore supersede the desirableness of pub- 
lishing his most important productions in a separate volume. The Biographer 
has in his possession most of these productions, having collected them at con- 
siderable [pains, and could now very readily arrange them for publication, did 
he know that the general wish and anxiety of his brethren were such as to 
justify the undertaking. 

The Likeness which accompanies this volume is not as accurate as could b6 
desired. There is no complete likeness of Mr. Mercer extant, from which an 
artist could copy ; but still his surviving acquaintances cannot fail to recognise 
in the one which is here presented, the most striking peculiarities of his inte- 
resting features, and to regard it as a valuable appendage to the Book. The 
engraved fac simile of his hand writing-, which is inserted in the volume, will 
no doubt be also highly valued. 

In the conclusion of this prefatory notice, the Biographer would tender bis 
most sincere thanks to all the brethren and friends who have generously as- 
sisted him in various ways during the prosecution of his labor ; and especially 
would he offer up a tribute of thankfulness to the Great Head of the Church, 
who has enabled him, through manifold infirmities, to press on to the conclu- 
sion of his toil, so that he can now present to the Christian public a volume 
which, notwithstanding all its deficiencies, may tend somewhat, with the divine 
blessing, to perpetuate the usefulness of one, whose name will ever hold an 
honored place upon the catalogue of the Wise, the Great, and the Good, 
Twiggs Co., February 9, 1844, 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Introductory remarks — Brief notice of Mr. Mercer's 
paternal Grandfather — Sketches of the life of Silas 
Mercer — Early life of Jesse Mercer — His conversion. 9 

CHAPTER II. 

Mr. Mercer's first public exercises — His marriage — 
Brief notice of his first wife — His ordination — Per- 
sonal appearance — Call to Hutton's Fork Church — 
Attends to his mental improvement — call to another 
Church and removal to Oglethorpe — His doubts as 
to his call to the ministry — Distressing temptation — 
Death of his Father and his return to Wilkes — Suc- 
ceeds his Father in the charge of his churches. 26 

CHAPTER III. 

Mr. Mercer's ministerial labors — Sardis Church — Phil- 
lips' Mill — Bethesda — Powelton — Gov. Rabun — Ex- 
tracts from Mr. Mercer's funeral Sermon on the 
occasion of Gov. R.'s death — Eatonton Church — 
Thomas Cooper 41 

CHAPTER IV. 

I 

Number of immediate conversions not a certain test of 
a minister's usefulness — Mr. Mercer set for the 
defence of the gospel — His care to establish his 
churches in the truth — Skilful to aid the tempted — 
Anecdotes — His caution in receiving members — Able 
disciplinarian — His manner of presiding at church 



VI CONTENTS. 

meetings — His punctuality — No respecter of persons 
— His churches benevolent — Defects in the prevailing 
system of pastoral labor — 31 r. Mercer in revivals — 
His views on Revivals — Ministerial support — Esti- 
mation in which he was held. 58 

CHAPTER V. 

Mr. Mercer's labors on his journeys from home, at As- 
sociations, &c. — Circulates useful books — his Clus- 
ter — Extracts from his correspondence — His relation 
to political affairs. 81 

CHAPTER VI. 

Death of Mrs. Mercer — Mr. Mercer removes to Wash- 
ington — A church constituted there — His second 
marriage — Editorial labors — The degree of D. D. 
conferred on him— Letters to various individuals. 102 

CHAPTER VII. 

Mr. Mercer's connexion with the Georgia Association — 
Extracts from his Circular Letters — Connexion with 
the General Committee — Baptist State Convention. 137 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Mr. Mercer's efforts in behalf of Education — Mt. Enon 
— Columbian College — Attempts at co-operation 
with South Carolina — Mr. Mercer's views on the 
subject — His aid to Mercer University — Brief Histo- 
ry of the Institution — Project of College at Wash- 
ington — Sermon on Education — Extracts from the 
same, and from Christian Index 160 

CHAPTER IX. 

Mr. Mercer's efforts in the Missionary cause — Forma- 
tion of Powelton Mission Societ}- — Mission Board 
of the Ga. Association — Mission to the Creeks — His 
favorite argument for Missions — Letters in defence of 
benevolent plans from the Index — Letter to Mr. 



* 



CONTENTS* Vll 

; Shuck — To Mr. Bolleson the abolition excitement — 
Remarks from the Index on the same subject — His 
kind feelings towards his northern brethren— Skele- 
ton of a missionary Sermon — Letter on the " Im- 
prisonment of the Missionaries to the Cherokees. ,, 188 

CHAPTER X, 

Mr. Mercer and the Temperance Causes — At first 
stands aloof — His reasons for this in a letter to Mr. 
Brandy— Mr. B.'s editorial comments — Finally 
takes the pledge — Establishes a Temperance paper — 
Opposes the use of wine — His opinion on the traffic 
in spirits — Remarks from the Index — Sketch of a 
Temperance Discourse — Short i notes on the wine 
question. 223 

CHAPTER XI. 

Mr. Mercer's pecuniary contributions to benevolent 
objects. 236 

CHAPTER XII. 

Unhappy divisions in the churches — Mr. Mercer's 
opinion as to the causes— His Circular Letter pub- 
lished in the Convention Minutes of 1831 — Useful- 
ness at ministers' meetings — Extracts from his ser- 
mon on Ministerial Union — Letters to Mr. B. and 
Mr. L. 245 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Mr. Mercer as a writer — Speaking the truth in love — 
His Ten Letters on the Atonement — Extracts — Ser- 
mon on the Excellency of the Knowledge of Christ, 
and Extracts from the same — Essay on Lord's Sup- 
per — History of Ga. Association — Review of a cer- 
tain Report — Essay on forgiveness of sins — Extracts 
from his Editorial pieces. . 281 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Narrative of Mr. Mercer's Life resumed — Letter to 
Mrs. R. — Severe indisposition — Address to patrons 



Vlil CONTENTS. 

of Index — Letter to the Ga. Association — Letter ta 
Mrs. R.— To Heman Lincoln— Death of Mrs. Mer- 
cer—Letter to Mr. M. — Letter of Mr. Curtis to Mr. 
Mercer — Mr. Mercer's reply — " Hear what the Spi- 
rit saith to the churches," 3 nos. — His feelings in 
view of his approaching end. 332 

CHAPTER XV. 

Mr. Mercer's decline regarded with sorrow — His last 
Sermon — Sketch of the Sermon — Visits Penfield — 
Letter to Mr. Sturgis — Visits Indian Springs — Let- 
ter to Mr. Sturgis — His death — Mr. Carter's Letter 
in relation to his death — Resolutions of the Washing- 
ton Baptist Church — Of the Presbyterian Church — 
Notice of Mr. Sturgis' Funeral Sermon. 373 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Mr. Mercer's personal appearance — Various traits of 
character described — Mr. Mercer in his social rela- 
tions — Character of his mind and attainments — His 
character as a preacher — His gift in Prayer — His 
piety — His faults — His great influence. 395 



APPENDIX. 

A 

Memoranda of occasional remarks made by Mr. Mer- 
cer, in his sermons, private conversation, &c. 431 

B 

Recollections of one of Mr. Mercer's sermons, furnished 
by Rev. \V. H. Stokes. 434 

C 
Obituary Notice of Mrs. Nancy Mercer. 436 

D 
Mr. Mercer's Opinions upon various subjects connected 
with Church Discipline, &c. 441 



M EM0IR8 



ELDER JESSE MERCER, 



BY C. D. MALLARY. 



NEW-YORK: 
PRINTED BY JOHN GRAY. 

1844. 






COPY RIGHT SECURED, 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



The following work was undertaken in accordance with the request and 
appointment of the Baptist State Convention, at its annual session at Lagrange, 
in 1842. Its preparation for the|press has been retarded by some difficulty 
and delay in collecting the necessary materials, by other numerous and press- 
ing duties, but more especially by that feeble state of health, which for many 
years past has imposed upon the writer the necessity of taking much time to 
accomplish even an inconsiderable task. The volume is not altogether what 
the Author could have wished, and what perhaps the public have expected, 
nor what, under different circumstances, the writer could have made it ; yet 
with all its defects, it is hoped that it will be found entertaining to the survi- 
ving friends and acquaintances of Mr. Mercer, and not altogether useless to the 
religious community in general. The work contains some reflections and his- 
torical details not absolutely necessary to illustrate the life and character of 
Mr. Mercer: yet they generally relate to affairs with which he was more or 
less connected, and may be in some degree interesting and useful to Southern 
Baptists, and particularly to the Baptists of Georgia. And it is proper* here 
to state, that the Author in preparing the work has had particular reference 
to its usefulness upon that field where it was natural to suppose it would find 
its principal patronage and circulation. On this account, it is to be hoped, that 
the more distant reader will look with forbearance on what might seem to him 
to be the redundances and defects of the publication. 

Numerous quotations from the writings of Mr. Mercer are interspersed 
through the volume — more than what many might deem judicious, though 
fewer than what others no doubt would desire. In the selections, reference 
has been had, in some cases, to their practical excellence, in others, to their 
adaptedness to give a clear and impartial view of Mr. Mercer's various reli- 
gious opinions. After all, the9e quotations constitute but a very small portion 



IV ADVERTISEMENT 

of hi* writings, and would not therefore supersede the desirableness* of pub- 
lishing his most important productions in a separate volume. The Biographer 
has in his possession most of these productions, having collected them at con- 
eiderable [pains, and could now very readily arrange them for publication, did 
he know that the general wish and anxiety of his brethren were such as to 
justify the undertaking. 

The Likeness which accompanies this volume is not as accurate as could be 
desired. There is no complete likeness of Mr. Mercer extant, from which an 
artist could copy ; but still his surviving acquaintances cannot fail to recognise 
in the one which is here presented, the most striking peculiarities of his inte- 
resting features, and to regard it as a valuable appendage to the Book. The 
engraved fac simile of his hand writing, which is inserted in the volume, will 
110 doubt be also highly valued. 

In the conclusion of this prefatory notice, the Biographer would tender his 
most sincere thanks to all the brethren and friends who have generously as- 
sisted him in various ways during the prosecution of his labor ; and especially 
would he offer up a tribute of thankfulness to the Great Head of the Church, 
who has enabled him, through manifold infirmities, to press on to the conclu- 
sion of his toil, so that he can now present to the Christian public a volume 
which, notwithstanding all its deficiencies, may tend somewhat, with the divine 
blessing, to perpetuate the usefulness of one, whose name will ever hold an 
honored place upon the catalogue of the Wise, the Great, and the Good. 
Twiggs Co., February 9, 1844, 



CONTENTS, 



CHAPTER I. 

Introductory remarks — Brief notice of Mr. Mercer's 
paternal Grandfather — Sketches of the life of Silas 
Mercer — Early life of Jesse Mercer — His conversion. 9 

CHAPTER II. 

Mr. Mercer's first public exercises — His marriage — - 
Brief notice of his first wife — His ordination — Per- 
sonal appearance — Call to Hutton's Fork Church — 
Attends to his mental improvement — call to another 
Church and removal to Oglethorpe — His doubts as 
to his call to the ministry — Distressing temptation- 
Death of his Father and his return to Wilkes — Suc- 
ceeds his Father in the charge of his churches. 26 

CHAPTER III. 

Mr. Mercer's ministerial labors — Sardis Church — Phil- 
lips' Mill— Bethesda — Powelton — Gov. Rabun — Ex- 
tracts from Mr. Mercer's funeral Sermon on the 
occasion of Gov. R.'s death — Eatonton Church — 
Thomas Cooper 41 

CHAPTER IV. 

Number of immediate conversions not a certain test of 
a minister's usefulness — Mr. Mercer set for the 
defence of the gospel — His care to establish his 
churches in the truth — Skilful to aid the tempted — 
Anecdotes — His caution in receiving members — Able 
disciplinarian — His manner of presiding at church 



VI CONTENTS, 

meetings — His punctuality — No respecter of persons 
— His churches benevolent — Defects in the prevailing 
system of pastoral labor — Mr. Mercer in revivals — 
His views on Revivals — Ministerial support — Esti- 
mation in which he was held. 58 

CHAPTER V. 

JVIr. Mercer's labors on his journeys from home, at As- 
sociations, &c. — Circulates useful books — his Clus- 
ter — Extracts from his correspondence — His relation 
to political affairs. 81 

CHAPTER, VI. 

Death of Mrs. Mercer — Mr. Mercer removes to Wash- 
ington — A church constituted there — His second 
inarriage — Editorial labors — The degree of D. D. 
conferred on him — Letters to various individuals. 102 

CHAPTER VII. 

Mr. Mercer's connexion with the Georgia Association — 
Extracts from his Circular Letters — Connexion with 
the General Committee — Baptist State Convention. 137 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Mr. Mercer's efforts in behalf of Education — Mt. Enon 
— Columbian College — Attempts at co-operation 
with South Carolina — Mr. Mercer's views on the 
subject — His aid to Mercer University — Brief Histo- 
ry of the Institution — Project of College at Wash- 
ington — Sermon on Education — Extracts from the 
same, and from Christian Index 160 

CHAPTER IX. 

Mr. Mercer's efforts in the Missionary cause — Forma- 
tion of Powelton Mission Society — Mission Board 
of the Ga. Association — Mission to the Creeks — His 
favorite argument for Missions — Letters in defence of 
benevolent plans from the Index — Letter to Mr. 



18. 



CONTENTS, Vll 



huck — To Mr. Bolleson the abolition excitement — 
Remarks from the Index on the same subject- — His 
kind feelings towards his northern brethren — Skele- 
ton of a missionary Sermon — Letter on the " Im- 
prisonment of the Missionaries to the Cherokees." 188 

CHAPTER X* 

Mr. Mercer and the Temperance Cause— At first 
stands aloof — His reasons for this in a letter to Mr. 
Brantly — Mr. B.'s editorial comments — Finally 
takes the pledge — Establishes a Temperance paper — 
Opposes the use of wine — His opinion on the traffic 
in spirits — Remarks from the Index — Sketch of a 
Temperance Discourse — Short notes on the wine 
question. 223 

CHAPTER XI. 

Mr. Mercer's pecuniary contributions to benevolent 
objects. 236 

CHAPTER XII. 

Unhappy divisions in the churches — Mr. Mercer's 
opinion as to the causes — His Circular Letter pub- 
lished in the Convention Minutes of 1831 — Useful- 
ness at ministers' meetings — Extracts from his ser- 
mon on Ministerial Union — Letters to Mr. B. and 
Mr. L. 245 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Mr. Mercer as a writer — Speaking the truth in love — 
His Ten Letters on the Atonement — Extracts — Ser- 
mon on the Excellency of the Knowledge of Christ, 
and Extracts from the same — Essay on Lord's Sup- 
per — History of Ga. Association — Review of a cer- 
tain Report — Essay on forgiveness of sins — Extracts 
from his Editorial pieces. 281 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Narrative of Mr. Mercer's Life resumed — Letter to 
Mrsjjl. — Severe indisposition — Address to patrons 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

of Index — Letter to the Ga. Association — Letter to 
Mrs. R.— To Heman Lincoln— Death of Mrs. Mer- 
cer — Letter to Mr. M. — Letter of Mr. Curtis to Mr. 
Mercer — Mr. Mercer's repiy — " Hear what the Spi- 
rit saith to the churches," 3 nos. — His feelings in 
view of his approaching end. 332 

CHAPTER XV. 

Mr. Mercer's decline regarded with sorrow — His last 
Sermon — Sketch of the Sermon — Visits Penfield — 
Letter to Mr. Sturgis — Visits Indian Springs — Let- 
ter to Mr. Sturgis — His death — Mr. Carter's Letter 
in relation to his death — Resolutions of the Washing- 
ton Baptist Church — Of the Presbyterian Church — 
Notice of Mr. Sturgis' Funeral Sermon. 373 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Mr. Mercer's personal appearance — Various traits of 
character described — Mr. Mercer in his social rela- 
tions — Character of his mind and attainments — His 
character as a preacher — His gift in Prayer — His 
piety — His faults — His great influence. 395 



APPENDIX. 

A 

Memoranda of occasional remarks made by Mr. Mer- 
cer, in his sermons, private conversation, &c. 431 

B 

Recollections of one of Mr. Mercer's sermons, furnished 
by Rev. W. H. Stokes. 434 

C 

Obituary Notice of Mrs. Nancy Mercer. 436 

D 
Mr. Mercer's Opinions upon various subjects connected 
with Church Discipline, dec. 441 



I 
\ 



MEMOIRS 



OF 



ELDER JESSE MERCER. 



CHAPTER I. 



Introductory Remarks. — Brief Notice of Mr. Mercer's] paternal 
Grandfather. — Sketch of the Life of Silas Mercer. — Early Life 
of Jesse Mercer. — His Conversion. 

Upon the map of an extended country, we do not 
expect to see a distinct exhibition of every hill and 
rivulet and valley. An attempt at such minuteness 
would defeat the design of geographical delineation, 
exhibiting nothing to the eye but a confused and blot- 
ted chart. The most interesting and prominent objects 
only can be sketched, and if this is performed with 
judgment and accuracy, every reasonable expectation 
is satisfied. So upon the map of Zion, which is to be 
held up to public view and handed down to future 
ages, we do not expect to find a distinct and prominent 
exhibition of the life and labors of every saint who 
may have contributed a share by his work of faith 
and labor of love, and patience of hope, to enrich and 
beautify the spiritual landscape. If it were possible 
for mortals on earth to construct and exhibit such a 

2 



10 MEMOIRS OF 

chart, how vast would be its dimensions, how compli- 
cated its parts, how wearisome its details. It would 
take a long life to scan one little province ; and even 
in this limited and partial field, the eye would wander 
over a thousand objects which would fail to make any 
deep and salutary impression on the mind. For the 
present, it is enough for us to know that such an ex- 
tended and perfect memorial is in the course of pre- 
paration in a brighter and better world. The record 
of all the saints is on high. On that record, the life and 
services of the most obscure believer, as well as of 
the most eminent, are traced in clear immortal lines. 
At length the glorious chart will be unfolded to our 
view in all its minute and mighty delineations. The 
little rill will then be as distinctly seen as the majes- 
tic river ; the flowery hillock as the cloud-capt moun- 
tain ; and then shall we learn, as we gaze with strong 
and admiring eyes upon the heavenly portraiture, in 
what manner the beauty and influence of all the re- 
deemed had been combined to complete the glory of 
Zion, and show forth the manifold wisdom and match- 
less grace of the Triune God. 

But if, at present, it would be as useless as it is im- 
possible, to render distinct and prominent in the annals 
of the church, the life and death of every good man, 
yet there has ever prevailed a just and general expec- 
tation that those who have been blessed with distin- 
guished gifts and graces, and selected by heaven as 
the instruments of extensive and lasting good, should 
be honored after death with some enduring memorial 
in which they may still live for the glory of God and the 
benefit of mankind. Upon the map of Zion, which is 
to give faithful instruction to future ages, the Baptist 
denomination in the United States will be laid down 



/ ■ 

/ 

/ JESSE MERCER, 11 

as an extensive and important province ; and in that 
province our children will expect to see some traces 
of the life and services of Jesse Mercer. 

The patriarchal head of the Mercer family was a 
native of Scotland, who emigrated to this country 
about the close of the seventeenth century. The pa- 
ternal grandfather of Jesse Mercer was one of his 
children, and was born in Virginia, in 1713. He mar- 
ried his first wife in that state, by whom he had three 
children, Lydia, Silas and Rhoda. His second wife 
was Sarah Simmons, of Currituck county, North Caro- 
lina, by whom he had nine children ; viz. Jacob, Tho- 
mas, Sarah, Chloe, Mary, Vashti, James, Caleb and 
John. Two only of this numerous family are now 
living, Mr. James Mercer of Coweta county, and Col. 
John Mercer of Lee county. The father removed 
from Virginia to North Carolina, (at what time it is 
not certainly known,) and resided in Currituck county 
and elsewhere in the state until about 1767, when he 
emigrated to Georgia and settled in what is now 
Wilkes county. He and his family suffered many 
hardships during the revolutionary struggle. He was 
upwards of sixty years of age at the commencement 
of the war, and although from age and infirmity he 
performed no actual service, yet he embraced in feeling 
the cause of his country, with patriotic zeal. Two of 
his sons, Jacob and Thomas, notwithstanding they had 
families, were engaged in active service during nearly 
the whole war, the care of their families in the mean 
time devolving mainly upon their aged parent. He 
died at the residence of his son Silas, in Wilkes county, 
in the seventy-seventh year of his age. Through 
youth and middle age he was a High Churchman, 
and for a long time officiated in North Carolina as 



12 MEMOIRS OF 

clerk of the parish, and perhaps as curate. In his oIU 
age he and his wife professed conversion, embraced 
the peculiar sentiments of the Baptists, and were bap- 
tized, probably by Daniel Marshall. 

Silas Mercer, the father of Jesse, whose name will 
ever occupy an honored place in the records of Ameri- 
can Baptists, was born near Currituck bay, North 
Carolina, February, 1745. As his mother died when 
he was but an infant, his early training devolved more 
exclusively upon the hands of the father, who being 
a zealous member of the Church of England, very 
carefully instructed him in the doctrines and ceremo- 
nies of that religious denomination. From early 
childhood, young Silas was the subject of serious im- 
pressions, but it was not till after he arrived at man- 
hood, that he experienced a saving change. Previous 
to this happy event, he had been most devotedly at- 
tached to the rites of the Episcopal church, and as 
violently opposed to other religious denominations, 
and especially the Baptists. These were the people 
that above all others, he had been taught to dread ; 
and he carefully and conscientiously shunned them 
as a company of deceivers, and a people infected with 
absurd and dangerous heresies. But possessing an 
independent spirit, and endowed with a vigorous and 
discriminating mind, when he came under the de- 
cided influence of correct religious principles, he was 
very naturally led into that course of investigation 
which gradually carried him beyond the control of 
educational prejudice and traditionary systems, and 
established him at last in a faith and pr actice more in 
harmony with the simplicity of the gospel. He very 
soon began to question the validity of sprinkling as 
scripture baptism, and in accordance wi th the rubric 






/ JESSE MERCER. 13 

of the Episcopal church, which enjoined immersion 
except when the health of the child might seem to 
require a milder mode, he had two of his children 
dipped. The first was Jesse, the subject of this me- 
moir, who was immersed in a barrel of water at the 
clergyman's house ; the other was a daughter who 
was subjected to the same ceremony in a tub prepared 
for the purpose in the Episcopal meeting-house. 

In his progress towards more just and scriptural 
views, he was compelled to encounter the most for- 
midable opposition. His father, under the influence 
of mistaken zeal and affection, cast every possible ob- 
struction in his way ; and to this were superadded the 
strenuous efforts of the clergyman, in connexion with 
all his Episcopal brethren around him. They spared 
no pains to keep alive his prejudices against the he- 
retical Baptists, and to prevent all intercourse with 
that blind and infatuated sect. But in spite of his 
own long cherished antipathies, and the untiring op- 
position of beloved and honored friends, he gained his 
consent at length to attend a meeting of Baptists, and 
listen to a discourse from one of their ministers. 
This presumptuous and daring act provoked his fa- 
ther's resentment ; and as the tears of grief and an- 
ger gushed from his eyes, he exclaimed, " Silas, you 
are ruined /" But neither the tears nor the rebukes of 
the disappointed father proved availing. The unrea- 
sonable prejudices of the son soon began to yield, and 
he was inclined to cherish more kind and charitable 
feelings towards the people he had so long despised. 
Not long after this he removed with his family to 
Georgia, and settled in Wilkes county. Having at 
length become thoroughly convinced of the propriety 
of believers , baptism, he was immersed about the 



14 MEMOIRS OF 

year 1775, by Mr. Alexander Scott, and became a 
member of the Kiokee church. He rose from the 
water as it were, a minister of the gospel ; for before 
he left the stream where he was immersed, he as- 
cended a log and exhorted the surrounding multitude. 
Having been formally licensed by the church, he at 
once entered upon a course of ministerial labor, 
which was characterized by much zeal, ability and 
usefulness. During the revolutionary struggle, he 
fled for safety to Halifax county in his native state, 
where he remained six years, during which time he 
was incessantly engaged in the work of the ministry. 
It appears from his journal, that he preached, upon 
an average, oftener than once a day ; so that during 
his six years 7 residence in North Carolina, he deliv- 
ered more than two thousand discourses. 

About the close of the war, he returned with his 
family to his former residence in Georgia, some seven 
miles south of Washington, where he remained to the 
end of his days. He was justly regarded as one of 
the most exemplary, useful and pious ministers in the 
Southern states. Several interesting churches were 
reared up under his faithful labors. Though not dis- 
tinguished for his literary attainments, he was never- 
theless the devoted friend of education, especially in 
the ministry ; and to promote this noble object, he 
established -a school near his own house, and procured 
an able teacher to superintend its interests. In the 
midst of his active and useful labors, he was arrested 
by disease, and after a short illness, he entered into his 
heavenly rest, in the fifty-second year of his age. 

He devoted considerable time to study, wrote seve- 
ral pieces on important subjects, one of which, entitled 
" Tyranny Exposed, and True Liberty Discovered," 



/ JESSE MERCER. 15 

was published in a pamphlet of sixty-eight pages. He 
was, however, more distinguished as a preacher than 
a writer. 

Jesse Mercer was born in Halifax county, North 
Carolina, December 16, 1769. He was the eldest of 
a family of eight children, consisting of five sons and 
three daughters.* 

* The following are their names: Jesse, Ann, Mary, Dan'el, 
Mourning, Hermon, Mount Moriah, and Joshua. The third and 
fifth died in infancy. Ann was born in 1774, joined the church at 
Phillips' Mill in her fifteenth year, and married Mr. Robertson, of 
Wilkes county, in her seventeenth. She removed with her husband 
to West Tennessee in 1822, where she is still living, in widowhood, 
Mr Robertson having died the second year after their removal 

Daniel was born in 1780. His father gave him a good educa- 
tion, and he made teaching his profession, in which he was highly 
distinguished. A large portion of the eminent men in the state 
received their education, in whole or in part, under his care. He 
was a distinguished Latin scholar, and was also able to give instruc- 
tion in the Greek. He was a man of considerable research, and 
spoke the English language with great purity and precision. He 
was quite facetious, and quick at repartee; a person of pleasing 
address, and fine colloquial powers. At the same time he is said to 
have been a person of sound judgment, great energy and decision of 
character, and possessing talents of a higher order, in the estima- 
tion of many good judges, than those of his brother Jesse. He mar- 
ried Miss Sarah Tuggle, of Greene county, about 1812, removed to 
Henry county in 1826, and died without issue in 1827. 

Mount Moriah was born in 1787, joined the church at Williams 7 
Creek in 1809, married Miss Ann Edge, of Wilkes, in 1816, And 
died in Oglethorpe, in the thirty-fifth vear of his age, leaving a widow 
and three children, who are still living. He also was a school mas- 
ter by profession; but not having received a classical education, his 
labors as a teacher were confined to common schools. In this sphere 
he is- said to have been distinguished. He was remarkable for his 
peaceable, humane, kind-hearted, and affectionate disposition. 

Hermon and Joshua are still living. The former was born in 
1784, the latter about 1790; they have both been for a long time 



1G MEMOIRS OP 

The youthful character of Jesse is described by sur- 
viving friends as almost without a stain. In very early 
life there was seen the budding of many of those amia- 
ble and virtuous traits, which so much distinguished 
him in after life. Under the influence of his strong, 
native good sense, a remarkably tender conscience, 
and great self-control, he was enabled to avoid, not * 
only the more gross excesses of youth, which are often 
witnessed with the deepest regret and sorrow; but 
those more slight deviations from uprightness and pro- 
priety, which, in subsequent years, are frequently 
called to remembrance with mortification and self-re- 
proach. A venerable uncle,* at the particular request 
of the writer, has generously furnished him with a 
sketch of the youthful days of his nephew, as well as 
of some interesting incidents connected with his more 
advanced life. Several extracts from this sketch, 
(with a few unimportant corrections,) will be intro- 
duced into the following narrative; as they will fur- 
nish very suitable materials for illustrating some im- 
portant portions of Mr. Mercer's history, w r hich must 
have remained an entire blank, but for this kind and 
seasonable contribution. 

Shortly after the return of Silas Mercer to Georgia, 
he visited his aged father, who had previously removed 
from North Carolina, and settled on Brier Creek, in 

members of the Baptist church, and are also ministers of the gos- 
pel. 

The descendants of the original Mercer family are now scattered 
through the whole of the middle, southern and western states, and 
Texas. Tradition says that the gallant General Mercer, who fell 
during the Revolution, was one of the family relatives. Many of 
them are yet in Virginia, amongst whom is the distinguished Charles 
Fenton Mercer. 

*Col. John Mercer, of Lee county. 






JESSE MERCEU, 17 

) 

'Burke county. Whilst there, he gained his father's 
consent to remove with his family to his own farm in 
Wilkes, that he might be more comfortably provided 
for in his declining years. " He came down, (says the 
writer of the sketch above referred to,) for my father 
and his family the ensuing fall, and brought with him 
his son Jesse, a very spare lad about thirteen years of 
age. This was the first time I had ever seen him. 
He was my senior by nearly seven years.* I soon 
became much attached to him, because he was free- 
hearted, sociable and kind, and called me his little 
uncle. From this time, we were brought up on the 
same farm, about seven miles south of Washington. 
From the intimacy of our association, I of course knew 
him well, and it gives me great pleasure to bear testi- 
mony to the rectitude of his juvenile deportment. 
Although a mere boy, he acted the part of the prudent 
man, that foreseeth the evil and hideth himself. Per- 
haps I may as well say here, that I not only never 
knew him use a profane word, or an impious expres- 
sion myself, but that I heard him say, in his latter 
years, he had never used an oath in his life, not even 
one of those petty oaths that too often fall from the 
lips of persons considered moral, or that indeed some- 
times deform the conversation of professors of religion. 
Nor did he ever pronounce in vain the Deity's name, 
as in those common exclamations, My God ! Good 
Lord ! &c. So far did he carry the principle all 
through his life, that in relating an incident, or an an- 
ecdote, he scrupulously refrained from repeating such 
oaths as might be connected with it. 

* The writer of this sketch was only a half brother of Silas Mer- 
cer, being the son of a second wife: this will account for his being 1 
so much younger than his nephew Jesse. 

2* 



18 MEMOIRS OF 

" There was another remarkable trait in the char* 
acter of his boyhood, that I must not omit. He had 
no taste for the common plays and pastimes of other 
boys, such as marbles, fives, town-ball, and the like ; 
and seldom, or never, took part in any of them, nor in 
the athletic exercises of jumping, wrestling, and box- 
ing. Once only did I ever see him engaged in wrest- 
ling, and that was with his uncle James, who was about 
his own age. They were ploughing in a field, when 
I suppose they agreed to make trial of their skill in 
wrestling, of which, by the by, it was manifest that 
neither had any, from their awkward, main-strength 
efforts to bring each other down. Down they came 
at length, and rolled and tumbled in the dirt until they 
were both fairly exhausted ; when they arose in good 
humor, brushed each other's clothes, and resumed their 
ploughing. 

" Although he had no relish for games of chance, 
nor those athletic sports that would have brought him 
into direct collision with others, it was not from a soli- 
tary and morose disposition ; for he was ever ready to 
join his associates, when opportunity offered, in hunt- 
ing and fishing. Indeed, these were recreations in 
which he always, even down to a late period, took 
great delight. At that early day, game was plentiful, 
and when he had leisure, no weather was so inclement 
as to prevent him from ranging the woods for deer and 
turkeys, or coursing the river and mill-ponds in search 
of wild ducks. At a later day, when the large game 
had disappeared, he often amused himself in hunt- 
ing squirrels, rabbits, and other small game. He was 
a good shot, and I have known him spend half a day 
at a time, in firing at a mark. 

" He took no less delight in fishing, and would angle 



JESSE MERCER. 19 

j 

With great patience, or join a party to draw the seine, 
or to muddy or drain a pond. After we were nearly 
grown up, I was with him often in his hunting and fish- 
ing excursions, and remember well his zeal in those 
amusements. We would lash a bundle of split pine 
upon our backs, like a knapsack, and with a torch 
in one hand, and a gig in the other, sally forth to the 
river, a distance of two or three miles, where we would 
fish with great zeal, often till midnight, and perhaps 
for all this toil be rewarded with not more than half a 
dozen molly -crawl-bottoms, as he used to call them. 
No way discouraged, however, it would not be long 
before we would try it again in the hope of better luck. 
He and myself alone put a fall- trap in Little River, in 
which we were very successful in taking fish, when- 
ever we would take the precaution to lie by it all night, 
so as to keep the rogues off. 

" Swimming, a useful acquirement, and an exercise 
so highly recommended by the great Franklin, was an 
art that he practised much, and of which he was very 
fond. This leads me to speak of an act of heroism and 
magnanimity, (and I record it with the most grateful 
feelings,) by which I was rescued from a watery grave. 
To him, indeed, I owe the extension of my natural 
life for the last fifty-eight years, and to his instrumen- 
tality, under the providence of God, I also owe the 
hope I have of eternal life. The incident alluded to 
occurred when he was about seventeen years of age, 
and was as follows : He and my brother James agreed 
to go one afternoon to practise swimming, and I ac- 
companied them. They seemed greatly to enjoy the 
pastime, while I was only a spectator, for I was on]y 
ten years old and could not swim. Withal the place" 
was deep, and the bank on the side we approached 



20 MEMOIRS OP 

precipitous. But on the opposite side, there was a 
nice sandy beach and shoal water ; and if I could only 
reach it, I too might enjoy the diversion. My nephew, 
seeing my anxiety, said that if I would undress myself, 
he would take me across on his back. He was par- 
ticular in directing me how to hold on, and not to 
climb on him, as that would put him under. To all 
this I promised compliance, but we had no sooner set 
out, than sinking deeper in the water than I had anti- 
cipated, I became frightened, and notwithstanding his 
remonstrances, kept climbing on him as he sank down, 
until w T e both went to the bottom. His only resource 
was to disengage himself from me, which he did, and 
rising, he reached the shore in almost a lifeless state. 
He nevertheless kept an anxious lookout for me, ex- 
pecting me to rise. I shortly did so at some distance 
down the stream, when, notwithstanding his exhaus- 
tion, he fearlessly plunged after me, and reaching the 
spot where I was going down, succeeded, by diving, 
in laying hold of me, and brought my apparently life- 
less body ashore with one hand, whilst he swam with 
the other. By rolling me in the sand, and using such 
means as they had heard recommended in such cases, 
he and my brother succeeded in restoring me to life. 

" He was a staid, discreet and sober youth, and 
never visited the haunts of dissipation, unless imperi- 
ously called there by business. He was very even- 
tempered and uniform in his conduct ; was never de- 
jected, morose and sulky, nor, on the other hand, did 
he give way to uproarious mirth, which was very com- 
mon in those days, at log-rollings, house-raisings, 
corn-shuckings, &c. He would, however, in relating 
little stories and anecdotes, indulge freely in a kind 
of quiet humor that was peculiar to him, and would 



JESSE MERCER, 21 

set off his narrative with a variety of posture and ges- 
ticulation wholly original, and somewhat awkward 
and rustic, such as tossing his head in a peculiar 
manner ; shrugging up his shoulders ; or if on his 
feet, walking to and fro with a peculiar swing of the 
body, using now a short step, and then a longer one, 
placing one arm behind him and resting it across his 
back, advancing and then receding, &c. Much of 
this peculiarity of manner he retained through his 
life, as you and thousands of others will remember. 
These peculiarities, aided perhaps by his natural gra- 
vity, occasioned some to say that he was proud; and 
by being privately informed of it by a friend, he took 
no other notice of it than in a sermon shortly after, 
when he had occasion to speak of pride and to define 
it. Said he, 'some say that I am proud; true, so I 
am, as proud as Beelzebub can make me, but I pray 
for more grace.' He was benefited by the improve- 
ment of manners consequent upon the increase of 
wealth and learning in the country, yet he never at- 
tained, either to a very polite carriage in his private 
intercourse with society, or to a graceful manner in 
the pulpit. 

" He had great command of his passions, as I have 
before intimated. I never knew him to have a fit of 
anger on account of any accident that was either pro- 
vidential, or the result of carelessness, nor on ac- 
count of any personal wrong or insult. Indeed, I do 
not think he ever had a personal quarrel with either 
man or woman through his whole life. He was also 
a man of great fortitude and firmness ; and met with 
calm determination every untoward event of his life, 
both temporal and religious. 

11 He was a pattern of filial obedience, submitting 



22 MEMOIRS OF 

cheerfully to every command of his parents. During 
the frequent absence of his father, who was from home 
at least one half of his time, he was never disobedi- 
ent to his mother, but on the contrary, treated her 
with the utmost respect and deference, and obeyed 
her with alacrity. Death alone parted him and his 
mother, between whom there was a reciprocal warmth 
of affection that I have scarcely ever seen equalled, 
certainly never surpassed. He was the favorite child 
of his father also, and the tenderness and indulgence 
which he showed towards him, would, if a boy of or- 
dinary parts and disposition, have made a spoiled 
child." 

Mr. Mercer enjoyed in his early youth but limited 
advantages for mental improvement. It is not certain 
that he had ever been sent to school previous to the 
return of his father from North Carolina. Owing to 
the scattered state of the population, it was some little 
time before a school could be established ; but after 
some delay one was opened about four miles from his 
father's residence, which he attended for a time, walk- 
ing the whole distance night and morning. The year 
following, a school was organized about a mile and a 
half nearer, in which he was a pupil for the space of 
two years. 

Some of the circumstances related in the foregoing 
narrative may seem to many quite unimportant ; yet 
there is often a peculiar satisfaction in contemplating 
even trifling incidents in the lives of great men, and 
especially those connected with their youthful history, 
which shadow forth those noble qualities that after- 
wards distinguish them. Those who have been inti- 
mately acquainted with the life and character of that 
great and good man whose history we are now re- 



JESSE MERCER. 23 

cording, cannot fail of discerning in some of the little 
incidents just rehearsed, at least a few glimmering 
types of that stable and unaffected kindness, that 
marked decorum and prudence, that striking origi- 
nality, that manlike firmness and independent recti- 
tude, that quiet, yet unwavering zeal in the prosecu- 
tion of approved objects, which were so conspicuous 
in subsequent life. 

But it is time to notice a more important portion of 
his youthful history ; that which refers to his early re- 
ligious exercises, and which cannot fail to interest the 
pious reader. A brief outline of these exercises were 
many years after imbodiecl by himself in a hymn 
which he published in his Cluster;* but his uncle has 
furnished a more full and satisfactory account of his 
experience, which he relates in substance, as he often 
heard it from the lips of his honored relative in pri- 
vate conversation, and in fragments from the pulpit. 
It is as follows : 

ili Having been raised,' said he, 'by pious parents, I 
was taught to believe that the scriptures were the 
word of God, and that I must conform my life to 
them, that it might be well with me in this world, and 
that which is to come. When I was no more than 
five or six years old, I felt conscious that I was a sin- 
ner, and was concerned about my future state, so 
much so, that I frequently prayed ; and so I continued 
alternately praying and sinning until I was about fif- 
teen years old. At this age, I was more seriously im- 
pressed with a sense of the wickedness of my heart, 
and its alienation from God. I believed he was too 
holy to conform himself to my pleasure, and allow me 
to live in sin, and not bring me into judgment for it. 

* No. 233. 



$4 MEMOIRS OF 

I feared the judgment, because I had done only evil 
and that continually ; and now to do good and please 
God was the important work before me. This I be- 
lieved was to be accomplished by praying, reading 
the scriptures, and going to meeting to hear the gos- 
pel preached. To all this I gave attention, with some- 
times more and sometimes less anxiety and diligence 
for nearly three years, when I found myself nothing 
better, but rather worse than when I first began to 
seek the Lord. My heart became hard and unfeeling, 
and I wondered that God, who was angry with the 
wicked every day, had not long since cut me off and 
sent me to destruction, — a condemnation which my 
conscience could not but have approved. I now felt 
a deeper and more abiding concern, but what to do I 
knew not, for it was now suggested that there was no 
hope for me, but that the time once was, when I first 
sought the Lord, when my conscience was tender, 
when I was young and had committed but little sin, 
that the Saviour would have taken me in the arms of 
his love and blessed me ; but, inasmuch as I had cast 
off those early impressions, and desired that God 
would connive at my love of sin, and still take me to 
heaven when I died, and thus rejected the Lord in my 
childhood, the promise " suffer little children to come 
unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the king- 
dom of heaven, " was to me lost, forever lost. I now 
thought I was given over to unbelief and hardness of 
heart, to spend the remainder of my days in hopeless 
despair. Whatever my end might be, it was, how- 
ever, my heart's desire that I might sin no more. 

" ' I now thought I had a clear view of the plan of 
salvation through Jesus Christ, and saw plainly how 
sinners might be saved who would come unto him 
aright, confessing their sins and believing on his 



JESSE MERCER. 25 

j 

name. Seeing it thus, I tried with all the faculties of 
my soul to believe, but could not ; and so I concluded 
I had not come aright, and was rejected. I was glad, 
and in my greatest distress rejoiced that others could 
believe in Christ, and by believing, flee the wrath to 
come. My heart's desire was to be holy, and I loved 
God because he was holy. I trembled at the thoughts 
of the great day of final retribution, when I must be 
driven out from the presence of the great God who 
made me, and whom I adored. My secret desire then 
was, that others might be saved, for I wanted none to 
accompany me in my banishment from Heaven to the 
regions of misery and despair to which I believed I 
was doomed. I had been some three years earnestly 
seeking the forgiveness of my sins, and had seen the 
time when I could weep over them, but now my heart 
was hardened, and my tears all dried up, save only to 
weep because I could not weep. While on the verge 
of despair, I was walking alone along a narrow, soli- 
tary path in the woods, poring over my helpless case, 
and saying to myself wo is me ! wo, wo is me ! for I 
am undone for ever ! I would I were a beast of the 
field ! — At length, I found myself standing with my 
eyes steadfastly fixed on a small oak^that grew by the 
path-side, and earnestly wishing that I could be like 
the little oak when it died and crumbled to dust. At 
that moment light broke into my soul, and I believed 
in Christ for myself and not another, and went on my 
way rejoicing/ " 

It appears from the records of the Phillips' Mill 
church, that he made a relation of his Christian expe- 
rience to that church, July 7th, 1787, and was re- 
ceived as a candidate for baptism. He was baptized 
by his father, (probably on the following day,) being 
then in the eighteenth year of his age. 



26 MEMOIRS OF 



CHAPTER II. 

Mr. Mercer's first public exercises. — His marriage. — Brief notice 
of his first wife. — His ordination. — Personal appearance. — Call 
to Hutton's Fork church. — Attends to his mental improvement — 
Call to another church and removal to Oglethorpe. — His doubts 
as to his call to the ministry. — Distressing temptation. — Death of 
his father and his return to Wilkes. — Succeeds his father in the 
charge of his churches. 

Shortly after Mr. Mercer connected himself with 
the church, an intense anxiety was awakened in his 
bosom for the salvation of his fellow men. He was 
strongly impelled to address them on the way of life 
through a crucified Redeemer, and an opportunity 
soon presenting itself for the gratification of his de- 
sires, he commenced his public exercises in a manner 
which afforded pleasing evidence of his strong natural 
powers, and of the purity and warmth of his Christian 
zeal ; and which excited amongst his pious friends high 
expectations of future usefulness and distinction. 
" His first public efforts," says the venerable relative 
from whose narrative we have already quoted so 
freely, " was made in his grandmother Mercer's 
house, an humble log cabin, within a hundred yards 
from his father's dwelling, on the occasion of a Sab- 
bath-day prayer meeting. The subject of his exhor- 
tation was the general judgment. He became deeply 
excited in warning his neighbors, and more particu- 
larly his associates, to flee from the wrath to come, 
and to prepare for that tremendous day. I was much 
astonished at his gestures, his ardor and his expres- 
sions, many of which I remember to this very hour. 
His grandmother 'seemed to be overwhelmed with 



JESSE MERCER. 27 

joy at this first attempt, spoke much of it in the fa- 
mily, and in some degree predicted his subsequent 
usefulness. There was preaching occasionally in my 
mother's house, and a few pious persons kept up a 
prayer-meeting there and at other places in the neigh- 
borhood. This gave him frequent opportunities for 
exercising in prayer and exhortation, which he took 
advantage of with manifest improvement. Witnessing 
his zeal, piety, and doctrinal ability, he was encouraged 
by his father, by his uncle Thomas Mercer, who was 
a minister of the gospel, his uncle Jacob Mercer, and 
some others of the leading members of the church, so 
that he soon began to preach, and to hold forth Christ 
publicly as the way of life and salvation to a perish- 
ing world.' ' It does not appear from the records of 
the church at what time he received a formal license, 
but there is every reason to justify the belief that 
from the first commencement of his public efforts, he 
had the entire approbation of his brethren generally. 

On the 31st of January, 1788, being then in his 
nineteenth year, he was united in marriage to Miss 
Sabrina Chivers, daughter of Mr. Joel Chivers, and 
at the time of their marriage, step-daughter of Mr. 
Oftnial Weaver, of Wilkes county. She was a pious 
and orderly member of the Phillips' Mill church, hav- 
ing been baptized about the same time that Mr. Mer- 
cer became a member. This union seemed to have 
been peculiarly suitable, and was the source, in after 
years, of much domestic enjoyment. Miss Chivers 
was a poor orphan girl, bringing to her husband upon 
their marriage, a no larger portion of worldly goods 
than a feather bed ; yet she possessed what was far 
more essential than mere earthly treasures, piety, pru- 
dence, industrious habits, and a heart devoted to the 



23 MEMOIRS OF 

comfort and usefulness of her companion. The wri- 
ter cannot forbear, in this connexion, presenting in 
her favor, the testimony of one that knew her well. 
" She was indeed a help-meet for her husband ; for, 
beside her ordinary domestic duties, she spun and 
wove with her own hands, all the cloth he wore, and 
gained not a little renown through the country, for the 
neatness and beauty of her manufacture. Notwith- 
standing she was a most affectionate wife, and de- 
lighted in the company of her husband, she was very 
careful to throw no obstacle in the way of his fulfilling 
his appointments punctually, and was always mindful 
to have his clothes put up, and every thing ready. 
She submitted with great fortitude to the lonely life 
that she led in his absence, which was relieved only 
by the company of one of her maiden sisters, (of 
whom she had several,) who usually staid with her. 
It was from a proper estimate of the importance of 
the work in w T hich he was engaged, and not from any 
indifference towards him, that she so cheerfully gave 
up his company. If there was a probability of his 
detention by high waters and inclement weather, she 
could hardly be drawn off to talk of any thing else ; 
and accustomed to his punctuality, she would be con- 
stantly peering through a little chink, (she had one 
opening towards each end of the road,) looking with 
the liveliest interest for his return. As soon as he ap- 
peared, she would cry out ' yonder he comes ! poor 
thing!' and dropping every thing, would runout to 
meet him with the greatest joy. 

"For the first ten or twelve years after their mar- 
riage, she was, in the strictest sense, a keeper at 
home, and proved herself a most frugal and industri- 
ous wife ; in which respect, indeed, few females ever 






JESSE MERCER. 29 



excelled her. She was extravagantly fond of infants 
and children, (it mattered little whose they were,) ca- 
ressed them much, and treated them with the utter- 
most tenderness and affection. In the absence of 
these objects her passion seemed to be transferred, 
in a measure, to the young of the inferior animals, 
such as lambs, pigs,- and even poultry, which she would 
feed and nurse with great care. After this, when the 
family had become more affluent, she travelled much 
with her husband, and eventually died in the upper 
part of South Carolina, in the month of Septem- 
ber, 1826." 

But to return to the history of Mr. Mercer, " I do 
not remember distinctly," says his uncle, " how he 
employed himself for the first year after his marriage, 
but am under the impression that he went to school. 
He lived in his father's house. His father gave him 
a hundred acres of land about a mile distant, and in 
the Fall or Winter of that year, he erected upon it a 
neat log-cabin, and opened a small farm to which he 
removed, and where he resided for two years." In 
the mean time he zealously prosecuted his ministerial 
labors, expounding the scriptures in an orthodox and 
able manner, and affording gratifying evidence to those 
who heard him, of his rapid advancement in the know- 
ledge of divine things. A short time before the com- 
pletion of his twentieth year, he was called by the 
church to ordination, and was solemnly set apart to 
the work of the gospel ministry. From his creden- 
tials, of which the following is a copy, it appears that 
his father, Silas Mercer, and Sanders Walker were the 
officiating ministers.* 

* It is probable tbat a Mr. Hutson also assisted on this occasion. 
In the minutes*of the church conference held November 7th, 1780, 



30 memoirs of 

" Georgia, ) 

Wilkes County, ) These are to certify, that we, being 
duly called as a Presbytery, have examined into the 
character, call and qualifications of our beloved bro- 
ther, Jesse Mercer, and with the consent of the 
church of Christ at Phillips' Mill, to which he belongs, 
have, by fasting and prayer, and imposition of hands, 
set him apart to the great work of the ministry. 

" And he is hereby authorized to exercise himself 
in the several parts of the ministerial functions, where 
he may be called, whether occasionally or statedfly]. 
Given under our hands, this seventh day of Novem- 
ber, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine. 

Sanders Walker, 
Silas Mercer.'' 

From the above it appears that fasting was con- 
nected with the ordination services ; a practice which 
the subject of this memoir uniformly recommended 
as important on such solemn occasions, being in his 
view enforced by the scripture example recorded in 
Acts xiii. 3. 

It might not be unsuitable in this place, to say 
something of Mr. Mercer's personal appearance in the 
pulpit at the commencement of his public ministry. 
It is said to have been any thing but prepossessing. 
He was slender, and awkward in the extreme. Old 
Mr. Whatley, who was a very good but eccentric 

there is the following item: " Brethren Sanders Walker and James 
Hutson met according to appointment, and proceeded to examine 
into the call and qualifications of Brother Jesse Mercer, and being 
satisfied with him, he was set apart by imposition of hands to the 
great work of the ministry.'* If Mr. Hutson was one of the or- 
daining presbytery, his name should have been to the certificate of 
ordination. Its absence the writer is not able to acceunt for. 



JESSE MERCER. 31 

brother, and of whom some of our aged brethren re- 
tain many pleasant and amusing recollections, was 
once heard to say, " when Jesse was young, he was 
one of the ugliest, most unpromising creatures I ever 
saw ; but we have made him a pretty boy." In after 
life, when his mind began to dev elope itself, and the 
roughness of his manners was somewhat softened 
down, this same old brother remarked, that he thought 
Jesse was one of the prettiest men he ever saw in his 
life. But the slender frame and awkward manners 
of his youthful days could not conceal his worth ; as 
veins of gold glitter through the sides of an unpol- 
ished mountain crag, so his vigorous mind and ar- 
dent zeal darted their brilliant fires through the rough 
exterior, engaging the notice and exciting the admi- 
ration of all around. 

After his ordination, he seemed to feel that, in a pe- 
culiar sense, he belonged to .Christ and to his blessed 
cause, and it was the habitual and absorbing desire of 
his heart, that he might be a useful minister of the 
gospel. An increased interest was felt by his brethren 
in his ministrations, and though so very young, he re- 
ceived a call to the pastoral care of the church called 
Hutton's Fork, (now Sardis,) in Wilkes county. He 
accepted the call, and continued his useful and faith- 
ful labors amongst that people, for more than twenty 
years. 

His improvement was perceptible, and yet he 
needed and desired more. His father, who, as we 
have seen, was a liberal patron of education, encou- 
raged him to engage in the study of the learned lan- 
guages. His consent was easily gained, and selling 
out his little farm, he removed with his wife to a small 
dwelling on Fishing Creek, near a respectable school. 



32 MEMOIRS OF 

The institution was under the charge of the Rev. Mr. 
Springer, a Presbyterian clergyman of considerable 
learning" and talent ; and withal, an able minister of 
the gospel. At this school he continued for two years, 
not neglecting however, in the mean time, his duties 
at Hutton's Fork, nor allowing his other Sabbaths to 
pass by unoccupied. He would occasionally accom- 
pany Mr. Springer to his meetings, who, it seems had 
become strongly attached to Mr. Mercer, for his Chris- 
tian zeal and promising talents, and who readily em- 
braced every convenient opportunity to give him 
instruction in theology. The parental care and faith- 
ful counsels and instructions of this good man were 
of great advantage to Mr. Mercer. Of this he w r as 
fully sensible, and he never ceased to cherish towards 
this worthy benefactor, feelings of the greatest respect 
and veneration. At his death, which occurred about 
the year 1800, he composed an appropriate and affect- 
ing eulogy on his character. The friendship which 
existed between these individuals at that day, when 
sectarianism and religious bigotry held a more powerful 
sway than at present, reflects great honor upon them 
both. 

About the time that Mr. Mercer removed to Fish- 
ing Creek, his father, assisted by some of his wealthy 
and intelligent neighbors, established his school, 
(known by the name of Salem,) under the rectorship 
of Mr. Rodolphus Brown ; who dying in the course 
of the year, was succeeded by Mr. James Armor. 
Under the care of the last named gentleman, who 
continued in charge of the institution for several 
years, it acquired considerable celebrity. Its advan- 
tages being sufficiently inviting, Mr. Mercer, after an 
absence of about two years, returned to his father's, 



JESSE MEIiCER. 33 

put up a cabin within a few yards of the academy, 
and continued for another year the study of the lan- 
guages, and such other branches of learning as were 
deemed of the most importance. He still prosecuted 
his ministerial labors, visiting regularly the church of 
which he had taken the oversight, preaching in the 
school house of nights, and improving his vacant 
Saturdays and Sundays in such openings around as 
were providentially presented. But he did not es- 
cape the animadversions and complaints of the preju- 
diced and the ignorant. "It is not Latin and Greek, 
and mathematics," said they, " that make a preacher, 
"but grace in the heart ? and a call to the work." They 
thought it a needless waste of time for Mr. Mercer to 
pore over his musty school books, when the field was 
open before him for the preaching of the gospel. 

His academic course was, however, rather limited 
and imperfect ; he did not attain to a very intimate 
acquaintance with the learned languages, though it 
was sufficient to assist him much in after life, to make 
out criticisms on difficult passages of Scripture. His 
knowledge of the principles of English grammar was 
not entirely thorough ; his orthography was incom- 
plete, and indeed continued defective through life ; 
and in other respects he came short even of an accu- 
rate elementary education. Still his limited course of 
literary and theological training was of inestimable 
advantage. It taught him the use of books, improved 
his language, gave him a more exact and comprehen- 
sive view of the gospel scheme, and enabled him to 
give to his thoughts a more clear and logical arrange- 
ment. It also served to awaken in his bosom the 
needful consciousness of his own mental capabilities, 
and brought into wholesome and well directed action 

3 



34 MEMOIRS OF 

those acute and vigorous powers which, in their more 
full and ample development, enabled him to grapple 
with a master hand, the most difficult and sublime 
subjects in the system of revealed truth. 

In the acquisition of his education, he derived but 
little assistance from his father, whose circumstances 
were limited, hardly allowing him the means for the 
education of his rising family, much less for the as- 
sistance of his married son. His own industry and 
frugal management, with perhaps some occasional 
donations from his brethren, constituted the resources 
upon which he had mainly to depend. It is proper, 
however, that it should here be .stated that in 1792, 
" the General Committee for the Charleston Baptist 
Education Fund/' assisted him with c£10, and after- 
wards, with a small supply of books. That very re- 
spectable and efficient body could hardly have made a 
more judicious and fortunate appropriation. 

The field of Mr. Mercer's labors was soon enlarged. 
In the course of 1793, he accepted of the pastorship 
of the church at Indian Creek, (or Bethany,) in Ogle- 
thorpe county, and removed the ensuing winter to 
its vicinity. He there was enabled, principally by the 
assistance of hired labor, to support his family, whilst 
he devoted himself with great diligence to the duties 
of his sacred calling. Occasionally, however, he would 
labor diligently with his own hands, (for from child- 
hood he was industrious and inured to hardship ;) but 
he did not allow the cares of his farm to interfere with 
his ministerial duties, the proper and faithful dis- 
charge of which he ever kept before him, as the 
great object and aim of his life. 

Mr, Mercer, like most other ministers, was occasion- 
ally harassed with fears that he was not called of God, 



— 



JESSE MERCER. 35 

to the work of preaching the Gospel. About the time 
to which our narrative has now brought us, (possibly 
a little earlier,) he accompanied his father to North Ca- 
rolina, where a trifling incident occurred which gave 
him great uneasiness. For a time, it caused him to 
doubt whether he was even a Christian, much more 
whether he was a Christian minister. " I was travel- 
ling," said he, " with my father in North Carolina : we 

had preached at Meeting-House, and gone home 

with an old friend of my father's to spend the night. 
Having preached that day, and travelled a consider- 
able distance, and, withal, through a drizzling rain, I 
was a good deal fatigued when we arrived, and I com- 
plained of my weariness. After supper, the kind-heart- 
ed old brother had a fine armed chair brought out for 
my accommodation, which I occupied with great com- 
fort during the tete a tete betwixt him and my father. 
Bed time at length arriving, the family assembled for 
evening worship, in which my father officiated. Dur- 
ing the service, I fell fast asleep in my comfortable 
arm-chair, and slept so soundly that I lost the whole of 
the prayer, and awoke only upon the rattling of the 
chairs in the rising up of the company. Instantly I was 
awake, and wide awake, for I was filled with remorse, 
shame and confusion. We soon retired to bed, but 
there was no rest for me that night. As soon as I was 
alone, I said within myself — what shall I do now ] O, 
that I was at home ! for how shall I look my father and 
this genteel family (for they were people of wealth and 
distinction) in the face, after this ! and the report of 
my shameful conduct will, no doubt, soon go abroad. 
It will be said that the Rev. Silas Mercer and his son 
Jesse, who is also commencing minister, are travelling 
and preaching in North Carolina. The old gentleman, 



3b MEMOIRS' OF 

it is true, is a preacher of some distinction, but as for 
his son, we think he had better give up preaching : 
why, he preached the other day at , and upon go- 
ing home with Mr. , fell fast asleep in an arm-chair 

during solemn family devotion, conducted by his father 
— did not know, nor even say amen I Surely, although 
he seems to be zealous in the pulpit, and exhorts others 
to watch and pray, his heart cannot be in it, or he 
would not fall asleep in an arm-chair in a strange coun- 
try, in a strange family, in the very midst of the solem- 
nities of family worship. In truth, said I within my- 
self, it is a very bad sign, and I must talk with my fa- 
ther about it in the morning, and tell him I cannot 
preach to-morrow. Upon introducing the subject to 
him, he gravely smiled at w 7 hat had occurred, and said 
he feared the adversary had gotten the advantage over 
me, and that he thought I was troubled over much. 
* Do you expect to be more watchful and circumspect,' 
said he, ' and heavenly-minded than the immediate fol- 
lowers of our Lord, who fell asleep on a much more 
solemn and trying occasion % And do you not remem- 
ber the kind manner in which he reproved them — the 
spirit, indeed, is ivilling, but the flesh is tueak ? I am 
sure here is ground for comfort and encouragement, 
and you should not lay it so much to heart. Trust in 
God, and apply yourself to the work before you.' My 
father saw proper to mention the subject at the break- 
fast table, where it excited nothing but laughter at first, 
which my bad looks soon turned to pity. The family 
treated it as a venial matter, and said the same thing 
might befall the most pious man living. I was surprised 
myself that the case of the sleeping disciples had not- 
occurred to me ; so that, upon the w T hole I was per- 
suaded to preach that day, though it was a long time 



JESSE MERCER, 37 

before I got entirely over it. But I have always found 
more peace of mind and Christian comfort in the dis- 
charge of my ministerial duties than in the omission of 
them." 

A few years subsequent to the little incident above 
related, probably in 1795, he was, on a certain occa- 
sion, assaulted by a most distressing and awful temp- 
tation, of which the following is a brief account. I still 
quote from his uncle's narrative, in which the circum- 
stance is recorded, as nearly as can be recollected, 
in Mr. Mercer's own words : 

" * 1 was,' said he, ' on a preaching tour, and having 
filled one of my appointments on a certain day, was 
proceeding on my way towards the next, when I heard 
the muttering of distant thunder, and, upon looking up, 
saw the outline of a rising cloud in the west. Borne 
onward by the wind, it arose with unprecedented haste, 
while the lightning flashed, and the thunder roared 
louder and nearer. I was convinced that I was about 
to be overtaken by a storm in the wild woods, for there 
was no covert at hand. The sky was soon overcast, 
and the air darkened. The loud, hoarse hum of the ap- 
proaching tempest now fell upon my ear, the flashes of 
lightning were swallowed up in a continual glare ; 
peal on peal of thunder fell around me, and the sturdy 
trees of the forest were trembling in the blast. My 
horse, startled by the lightning, the thunder and the 
crash of falling trees, from becoming restive, began to 
plunge from side to side, so that it was with great dif- 
ficulty I could hold on. In the midst of this fearful 
commotion of the elements, and drenched with rain, it 
was suggested to me to curse the wind, and the thun- 
der, and the lightning, and the God who ruled them. 
The storm gathered strength, and so did the tempta- 



38 MEMOIRS or 

tion. I feared I should commit the awful sin, notwith* 
standing all the powers of my soul were arrayed against 
it. I clenched my teeth, grasped my bridle convul- 
sively, and my whole system was in a state of the ut- 
most tension. In my agony I cried, continually, Lord, 
help m3 ! Lord, help me ! Preserve thy poor servant 
that trusteth in thee, from this most heinous — this black- 
est sin ! Such was the anguish of my soul that I for- 
got the storm. The temptation may have lasted some 
five or six minutes, when all on a sudden it left me. 
My nerves relaxed, and I felt as weak as a child; but 
my mouth was filled with praises to God for my de- 
liverance. It was, however, quickly suggested to me, 
if you did not curse God aloud, yet you thought it. I 
replied, with increased joy, if I did, blessed be God, 
my heart was not in it. So the temptation proved a 
blessing in the end, for by it my faith was strengthen- 
ed.' " 

In the month of August, 1796, Mr, Mercer was 
called to mourn the death of his honored father. The 
removal of such a wise counsellor and faithful friend, 
to a person possessing a heart so kind and tender, and 
in which resided so much filial love and devotion, must 
have been a most painful bereavement. The follow- 
ing winter, yielding to the call of duty, he. returned to 
his father's residence, (at the same time, probably, re- 
signing the pastoral charge of his church in Oglethorpe 
county,) for the purpose of administering upon his de- 
ceased parent's estate, and otherwise assisting the be- 
reaved family. At the same time, Mr. Armor gave 
up the rectorship of the Salem Academy, of which he 
immediately took the superintendence, being assisted 
in his labors by his brother Daniel. 

The churches, which had been so faithfully served 



JESSE MERCER. 39 

by his father, and which had grown up to respecta- 
bility under his care, now called for the services of the 
son. These were Phillips' Mill, Powelton, and What- 
ley's Mill (now Bethesda) : he accepted of these sev- 
eral calls, and entered at once upon the cultivation of 
this new and extended field. It seems that the mantle 
of the ascended Elijah rested upon the young Elisha. 
Those who knew him best esteemed and loved him 
most; he was a prophet truly honored in his own 
country, and amongst his own kindred. His profiting 
had appeared to all ; his ministerial gifts had become 
much improved ; and he had taken a high stand as an 
able expounder of the doctrines of the gospel. 

He continued at his father's place for several years, 
until he had settled the business of the estate ; after 
which he removed to the Fork of Little River, in 
Green county, some fiye or six miles below What- 
ley's Mill. Here he settled again on a small farm, 
supporting himself and family as before, chiefly by 
hired help, although he still continued to labor occa- 
sionally himself. Nothing, however, was allowed to 
disturb his uniform zeal and punctuality in the dis- 
charge of his ministerial duties. 

About this time, he had a few young ministers un- 
der his instruction, amongst whom were Thomas 
Rhodes and Malachi Reeves. At certain appointed 
times, these young brethren would meet him at his 
own house, when he would hear their recitations, and 
give the necessary directions as to their course of read- 
ing and study. These services were rendered gratu- 
itously. How much good might be done by our wise 
and experienced ministers, were they more frequently 
to imitate this praiseworthy example, and encourage 
their younger brethren, especially those whose pecu- 



40 MEMOIRS OF 

liar circumstances deny them the advantages of good 
theological schools, to come to their own houses, and 
receive such instructions as would tend to advance 
their piety and usefulness. 

From what has already been stated, it would seem, 
that during the early years of his ministry, Mr, Mercer 
received but little pecuniary assistance from his 
churches. Individual members would occasionally 
assist him with small donations of corn, pork, and other 
articles of provision, " but as to a compensation in 
gold and silver, such a thing," says his uncle, " was 
scarcely thought of." 

" After about 1800, he received more on funeral 
and marriage occasions, than from any other quarter. 
He had acquired great fame in the performance of thfl 
marriage ceremony, and I have very often heard young 
ladies say, when we marry we shall send for Mr. Mer- 
cer, for we do not think we should be frightened ; he 
goes through the ceremony so quickly and genteelly. 
The rich and fashionable used to call him for this pur- 
pose, the distance of from thirty to fifty miles, and 
would frequently, for his services, present him with 
from twenty to fifty dollars. In like manner, he would 
be called equal distances to preach funeral sermons ; 
and when any thing was given, which was not uncom- 
mon, he would be presented with similar sums of mo- 
ney. In his tours of preaching, beyond the bounds of 
his churches, wealthy brethren, knowing his poverty, 
would sometimes give him a few dollars, especially 
when he visited their families ; and pious ladies would 
give him some articles of clothing of their own manu- 
facture, besides many little presents that were made 
through him to his wife. By an economical use of all 
these little means, he contrived, not onlv to live in 



JESSE MERGED 41 

comfort, but to increase constantly, though slowly, his 
property. He was prudent, industrious, and econom- 
ical, and cautiously regulated his expenditures by his 
income ; so that he always met, with the utmost punc- 
tuality, his pecuniary engagements." 



CHAPTER III. 

Mr. Mercer's ministerial labors. — Sardis Church. — Phillips' Mill. — 
Bethesda. — Powelton.— Gov. Rabun. — Extracts from Mr. Mer- 
cei's funeral sermon on the occasion of Gov. IL's death. — Eaton- 
ton Church— -Thomas Cooper. 

The last chapter brought up the history of Mr. Mer- 
cer to the time when he became well established in his 
ministerial character, and had entered, in a formal 
manner, upon an interesting and extensive field of 
labor. In this chapter, and the one or two chapters 
which immediately follow, it is proposed to take a brief 
and cursory view of his ministerial labors during the 
most active portion of his life. This view will confine 
us mainly to the period extending from 1796, to 1827. 
There will be found some occasional reference to 
events already noticed in the preceding chapter, and 
to some of a later date than 1827, as well as some 
statements and reflections of a general character, 
which will apply to most of his ministerial course from 
first to last. The other various departments of useful 
and pious labor in which he was employed, and in 
which, as well as in the more immediate discharge of 
his duties as a minister, he gained for himself a pre- 

3* 



42 MEMOIHS OF 

cious and venerated name, will be noticed by them-' 
selves in their appropriate places. 

The sketch now proposed must necessarily be very 
imperfect, and, in all probability, will fall far short of 
the expectations of surviving acquaintances, as well 
as of those who had only heard of him by the hearing 
of the ear. The writer had no personal acquaintance 
with Mr. Mercer till towards the close of the period 
above referred to, and then the acquaintance was 
formed at some distance from the field of his active 
labors. Mr. Mercer kept no regular journal of his la- 
bors, nor of the various religious exercises through 
which he passed in the prosecution of his ministerial 
duties. But little, referring to this period, can be 
gathered from his correspondence ; the traces of many 
incidents are entombed with the venerable cotempo- 
raries, who entered into their rest before him ; and 
many things, which might interest, have glided from 
the memory of those who still survive. In addition to 
all this, it must be remembered, that the course of most 
ministers, even of such as are greatly distinguished, is 
generally monotonous and unimposing, being marked 
with but few incidents to excite admiration and 
wonder. 

The field occupied by Mr. Mercer was one of the 
most important in the state ; and there was a mutual 
adaptedness of minister and people, which very natu- 
rally suggests to our minds the wisdom of that provi- 
dence, which assigned him the bounds of his habita- 
tion. How greatly the influence and usefulness of a 
minister depend upon such a coincidence, must be 
obvious to all. The churches which he served, were 
in the midst of a dense population, embracing a large 
proportion of individuals in comfortable circumstances, 



JESSE MERCER. 43 

of solid, practical sense, with a respectable number 
beside of considerable intelligence and refinement. 
In the main, they were a people that could well appre- 
ciate the plain, rich, sound instructions of their gifted 
minister; whilst at the same time they felt the most 
entire complacency in his unadorned and simple man- 
ners. 

Our sketch will commence with some account of 
Mr. Mercer's services in immediate connexion with 
the several churches which he supplied during the pe- 
riod just specified. 

SARDIS CHURCH. 

This church, (first called Hutton's Fork,) was gather- 
ed by the labors of Silas Mercer, in 1788. It is situated 
in Wilkes county, about twelve miles northwest from 
Washington. As the reader has already noticed, this 
was the first church which Jesse Mercer was called 
to preside over, as pastor. It prospered under his min- 
istry, and was favored with some seasons of special re- 
freshing from the presence of the Lord. At the Asso- 
ciation of 1802, thirty-three were reported as having 
been added by baptism, during the preceding year. 
In the years 1808 and 1809, there was a precious re- 
vival, and something like one hundred were baptized 
as the fruit of God's merciful visitation at that time, 
The whole number received into the membership of 
the church, during Mr. Mercer's connexion with it, 
the author has not the means of ascertaining, though it 
must have been quite respectable. In 1817, he gave 
up the charge of this interesting church, much to the 
regret of the members that composed it. They were 
greatly attached to their pastor, and accepted of his 
resignation with extreme reluctance. 



44 MEMOIRS OF 



PHILLIPS MILL. 



This is one of the oldest churches in the State, and 
owes its birth to the instrumentality of the elder Mer- 
cer. It was constituted in 1785. Its location is in 
Wilkes county, some nine miles in a southwest direc- 
tion from Washington, on the road leading from that 
place to Crawfordville. As the pious and intelligent 
Baptist passes by the antique meeting-house, now occu- 
pied by this venerable mother-church, the most thril- 
ling reflections are awakened in his bosom. Not far 
distant from this very place, resided for many years, 
and finally died, the holy, zealous and indefatigable 
Silas Mercer ; here his distinguished son was baptized,, 
and ushered into the gospel ministry; and here, for 
more than fifty years, was his voice often heard, warn- 
ing the ungodly, pointing the weary and heavy-laden 
to the Saviour of sinners, and reproving, instructing 
and comforting the children of God. Shortly after the 
death of his father, Mr. Mercer, as has already been 
recorded, was called to the pastoral charge of this 
church. The date of this transaction was September 
10th, 1796. On the same day, he and his wife united 
again with the church, having been dismissed in March, 
1795. He served the church regularly, as pastor, 
thirty-nine years, with the exception of a few short pe- 
riods when he obtained permission to be absent, for 
the purpose of travelling. In the latter part of 1798, 
he visited the north, and Rev. B. Mosely supplied his 
pulpit during his absence. During his absence, in 1817, 
to attend the Triennial Convention at Philadelphia, 
hh pulpit was supplied by a Rev. Mr. Robinson ; and 
when absent for a similar purpose, in 1S26, the Rev. 
B. M. Sanders officiated in his place. In 1802, this 



JESSE. MERCER, 4& 

church, in common with all the other churches which 
Mr. Mercer supplied, was favored with a pleasant re- 
vival. Thirty-eight were ^reported to the Association 
that year as added by baptism. In successive years, 
the numbers 7, 12, 14, 19 and 25 are occasionally found 
reported, though not unfrequently much smaller num- 
bers. During Mr. Mercer's pastoral connexion with 
the church, something like 230 were added by bap- 
tism. 

In the earlier part of Mr. Mercer's labors at Phil- 
lips' Mill, as well as at the other places which he sup- 
plied, his congregations were generally large ; in later 
years, the population of the country around having 
been much diminished by death and emigration, and 
other churches, also, having sprung up in contiguous 
regions, the attendance upon his ministry, except on 
special occasions, was less crowded. In 1835, Mr. 
Mercer resigned the charge of this church, and was 
succeeded by Rev. W. H. Stokes. - 

bethesd a, formerly whatley's mill. 

This church is in Green county, about twelve miles 
east of Greensboro. In its origin, it was another mo- 
nument of the untiring zeal and successful labor of Si- 
las Mercer. There are some still living who remem- 
ber the time when his voice was lifted up in the forest, 
to instruct the gathering multitudes in the way of life, 
before the church was formed, or a house of worship 
erected. The church was constituted in 1785, and en- 
joyed the labors of Silas Mercer as its first pastor. 
Abraham Marshall and James Heflin were also pas- 
tors. Jesse Mercer commenced his pastoral labors in 
this church in 1796, and continued them until 1827. 
From the year 1807, till 1817 his membership was 



46 MEMOIRS OP 

also here. The population around, in former years, 
was dense, and an unusually large congregation at- 
tended on the ministry of Mr. Mercer. In 1818, a 
brick meeting-house, sixty feet by forty, and two stories 
high, was erected, to which the pastor himself was a 
liberal subscriber* At this time, the name was chang- 
ed from Whatley's Mill to Bethesda. 

This has been an active, useful and prosperous 
church. It has been the mother of several valuable 
ministers, has aided much in the cause of benevolence, 
and enjoyed some delightful revivals of religion. In 
the memorable year of 1802, forty-nine were added 
by baptism. Other respectable accessions are noted 
on its records. 

The uncle of Mr. Mercer gives the following inte- 
resting account of the commencement of a revival in 
this church : "At a certain time, he had been on a 
preaching tour for a fortnight, and had spent most of 
the time in a revival, and upon his return, attended 
his church at Whatley's Mill, at their regular meeting. 
He was aware that the church was in a very languid 
state, and his sermon was on the deceitfulness of the 
heart, in crying peace, peace, when there is no peace. 
At the close of his discourse he became deeply affect- 
ed, and addressed the congregation about as follows : 
'Dear brethren and friends, I have been, for a great 
part of the last two weeks, addressing a people that I 
believe are truly awakened to a sense of their lost, 
helpless, and ruined state, and are crying out in their 
agony, what shall we do to be saved ? Amongst them 
my tongue seemed to be loosed, and I could point 
them with great freedom to the way of salvation 
through a crucified Saviour. On my way hither, I 
have felt the deepest concern in contrasting your life- 



JESSE MEHCER. 47 

less situation with theirs, until I even bedewed the 
pommel of my saddle with tears ;' and here lifting up 
his hands, he exclaimed* ' O, my congregation, I fear 
you are too good to be saved !' and again burst into 
an irrepressible flood of tears. Descending from the 
pulpit, and recovering himself a little, he poured forth 
a most solemn and empassioned exhortation, during 
which many came forward and asked that prayer might 
be made in their behalf ; and thus commenced one of 
the most interesting revivals which has ever blessed 
that favored church ." 

Much of the fruit of Mr. Mercer's valuable labors at 
Bethesda appeared after he had resigned his pastoral 
charge* In 1828 the church was permitted to enjoy 
one of the most powerful revivals of religion that has 
ever been witnessed in the State of Georgia. From 
March to October, not less than 270 were added to 
the church by baptism. Fifty and sixty were some- 
times added in a day. Amongst this number were 
some who had been converted many years before, un- 
der the preaching of Mr. Mercer; and there were 
others, whose conversions w r ere recent, that still refer- 
red to his faithful instructions as the means of their 
first awakening. The seed which he had long been 
sowing in tears ripened at length into a joyful harvest. 

Before dismissing this item of his narrative, the 
writer thinks it proper to state, that, in 1820, a meet- 
ing of the Mission Board of the Georgia Association 
was held at Bethesda, at which time the several minis- 
ters present united in the ordination of Rev. Adiel 
Sherwood, a brother whose name has long been iden- 
tified with the history and successful progress of the 
Baptists of Georgia. 



48 MEMOIRS OF 

TOWELTONi 

This church, (at first known by the name of Pow- 
el's Creek,) is another monument to the pious labors 
of the father Silas, who planted, of the son Jesse, 
who watered, and to the grace of God which gave the 
happy increase. It is located at the little village of 
Powelton, Hancock county, about fourteen miles 
northeast from Sparta, the county town, near Pow- 
ers creek and the Ogechee river. It was constituted 
on the 1st of July, 1786, with twenty-six members, 
by Silas Mercer, John Harvey, and John Thomas. 
On the 4th of February, 1797, Mr. Jesse Mercer as- 
sumed the pastoral charge of this interesting church, 
and remained its minister till the latter part of 1825. 
It appears from the records of the church, that he was 
received into its fellowship by a letter from Whatley's 
Mill, (Bethesda,) Feb. 28th, 1818, about which time, 
or perhaps a little before, he removed with his family 
from Green county to Powelton, where he resided for 
the next nine or ten years. Under the wise and faith- 
ful training of their much beloved and venerated pas- 
tor, the Powelton church became one of the most ac- 
tive, efficient, and benevolent bodies in the state. It 
was for a long time one of the important rallying 
points of the denomination. The benevolent and hos- 
pitable spirit of its members drew to the place many 
of those sacred convocations of ministers and lay 
brethren, which were appointed from time to time, to 
deliberate upon the interests of Zion. The Georgia 
Association held several of its annual sessions with 
this church. Here was organized in 1803, " The Ge- 
neral Committee of the Georgia Bdptists ;" here 



JESSE MERCER. 49 

was formed, in 1822, the Baptist State Convention, 
and its sessions for 1823, and 1832, were held with 
this church. An efficient missionary society was also 
organized at Powelton, as early as the 5th of May, 
1815. In 1814 or 1815, by the efforts of this intelli- 
gent and enlightened church mainly, an academy was 
established, which has ever since been maintained 
upon a respectable footing, and has been greatly ser- 
viceable to the denomination, and to the country ge- 
nerally. Though the academy has been surrounded 
by a Baptist community, and has been principally 
sustained from its commencement by Baptists and 
their adherents, yet the trustees have ever been guided 
by the most liberal policy, and without respect to de- 
nominational considerations, have endeavored to se- 
cure the most competent teachers. It has so hap- 
pened, that most of the instructers have been pae do- 
baptists. The liberality of the patrons, however, in 
cheerfully sustaining them, has not been altogether 
unrewarded, for some of these individuals have 
come useful and prominent members of the Baptist 
denomination. The Bev. Otis Smith, long known as 
one of the most successful teachers in the state, and 
for some years president of the Mercer University, is 
one of the individuals to whom reference is here 
made. 

The -accessions to the Powelton church under the 
ministry of Mr. Mercer, were not remarkably large. 
In 1802, twenty -nine were reported to the Association 
as added by baptism. Occasionally, a considerable 
length of time would transpire without any increase ; 
at other times, several would be received at each suc- 
cessive monthly meeting. About two hundred were 
baptized during Mr. Mercer's connexion with this 



50 MEMOIRS OF 

church. If the accessions were not large, they never- 
theless embraced a highly respectable number of in- 
dividuals, distinguished for their intelligence, piety 
and usefulness. 

Gov. Rabun was, for many years, a distinguished 
member and ornament of the Powelton church. 

In the following extract from a communication from 
President Sherwood, there is honorable mention made 
of this good man, as well as some reference to Mr. 
Mercer, which may not be uninteresting to the reader. 
11 In June, (1819,) I attended his (Mr. Mercer's,) Pow- 
elton meeting, and by previous invitation spent two 
or three days at his house. Governor Rabtin was 
then clerk and chorister of the church. I was struck 
with the simplicity of his character. Some men, if 
they had been elevated by office as was he, would 
have supposed themselves too high to record the do- 
ings or lead the devotions of a country church ; but 
here was exhibited the spectacle of the highest officer 
in the state mingling with his brethren as one of them, 
far removed from that hauteur which little folks some- 
times assume, as if he were the most insignificant of 
their number. In the fall of this year, Mr. Mercer 
was sick of a bilious attack, and seemed to have es- 
caped very narrowly from the grave. I can never 
forget the grief portrayed in Judge CohVs counte- 
nance when it was announced that he was actually 
dead ; but it was a mere rumor. At the meeting of 
the Georgia Association that fall, he was pale and 
feeble ; Governor Rabun was the picture of health ; 
but before the month had expired, he had bowed to 
the summons of death. So uncertain are all appear- 
ances on which to place our hopes." Shortly after 
the death of this excellent man, Mr, Mercer, at the 



JESSE MERCER. 51 

request of the legislature, preached a funeral dis- 
course on the melancholy occasion, which was after- 
wards published, and passed through two editions. 

A few extracts from this discourse may be gratify- 
ing to the reader. 

" Called as I am, by the General Assembly of a 
State in mourning for the sudden and unexpected 
death of her beloved Chief Magistrate, to express the 
high consideration in which he was so justly held, and 
to afford a tribute of respect due his departed worth, I 
tremble as I advance ; and feeling as I do, a particu- 
lar and melancholy interest in this afflictive dispensa- 
tion while I make the effort, the tenderest sensibilities 
of my heart mourn, and an unutterable grief thrills 
through my soul. 

" Your late excellent Governor was the pleasant and 
lovely companion of my youth ; my constant friend and 
endeared Christian brother in advancing years, and, 
till death, my unremitted fellow-laborer and able sup- 
port in all the efforts of benevolence and philanthropy 
in which I had the honor and happiness to be engaged, 
calculated either to amend or meliorate the condition 
of man." 

After this short introduction, the author proceeds to 
quote the passage of Scripture upon which he founds 
his discourse : this is 2 Sam. iii. 38 — " Know ye not 
that there is a prince and a great man fallen in Israel ?" 
From this text he takes occasion to consider the im- 
portance and character of a great man in a nation, and 
the light in which his Jail is to be regarded. 

" A man is great," says Mr. Mercer, " according to 
his strength of thought, the informa ion he possesses, 
and the manner in which he employs his time and ta- 
lents for the public good and the divine glory. He 






MEMOIRS OF 

should be estimated from his mind rather than his at- 
tainments ; or, as Dr. Watts beautifully expresses it — 

u ' "Were I so tail to reach the pole, 

Or grasp the ocean with my span, 
I should be measured by my soul — 

The soul's the standard of the man.' 

11 Next to a noble mind, wisdom constitutes and is 
the great man's ornament. It consists not in any de- 
gree of knowledge, but in the right use of what is pos- 
sessed, and differs from it as pleasures differ from the 
means which afford them. It is to folly what know- 
ledge is to ignorance. It originates in the fear of 
God, flourishes in patriotic philanthropy and termi- 
nates in glory and renown. A wise man is attentive 
to the experience and examples of individuals and na- 
tions, * * * and increases in wisdom. In his intercourse 
with men he is directed by the good old golden rule, 
and in politics it is his joy to associate individual hap- 
piness with the public good. He is generous in feeling, 
.open in candor and firm in complaisance ; in plea- 
sures prudent, in trials patient, and sterling in worth. 
He thinks modestly, speaks cautiously, and acts hum- 
bly. His whole deportment is regulated by the fear 
of God, and directed by the public good and the divine 
honor; and such was Governor Rabun. 

" But to crown the character of the great man. piety 
is indispensable. This is that gracious temper of 
heart which fulfils the whole law ; it originates in 
renovation, and is perfected in love to God and man. 
'Tis that temper of heart towards God, without which 
all religion is vain, devotion is solemn mockerv, and 



JESSE MERCER. 53 

righteousness becomes sin. 'Tis this that consecrates 
both the persons and works of great men to wise 
and holy purposes, and constitutes them the seed 
of the land, so that for their sakes a nation may be 
preserved. But in those who are great in impiety, 
there is no pledge for the public safety. God indeed 
may use them as he did Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, 
and Cyrus, as instruments for the accomplishment of 
Ms designs, by overruling tlieirs ; but it shall be with 
them as it was with the king of Assyria, who, when 
he had done the work assigned him as an instrument 
in the hand of the Almighty, was punished for the 
haughtiness of his high looks. But 'tis on account of 
the persons and the prayers of pious men, that God 
is graciously pleased to stay his wrath, and hush the 
threatened storm of vengeance to rest. Of what vital 
worth then are men of piety to a sinful nation ? pious 
men, who, like the friend of God, suing for guilty 
Sodom, constantly bend the knee of devotion before 
the throne of God, and give him no rest till he estab- 
lish and settle the state in peace : — especially men of 
early piety, whose hearts have been long right with 
God, and whose morals are all fixed by the most 
firm and rigid habit. These are the strong pillars of 
the state, the pledges of the public safety, and the 
blessed of God. And such was Governor Rabun. 

^S -fr ^(F trF ^P -jp w w 

" It was his felicity to have many friends, few ene- 
mies, rare equals, and no superiors. He is gBne, and 
has left an awful chasm behind him. — A widow bereft 
of a tender and kind husband ; children of an affection- 
ate and loving father ; servants of a humane and in- 
dulgent master ; neighbors of a constant friend and 
pleasant companion ; the Baptist church of her bright 



54 MEMOIRS OF 

ornament, member and scribe ; two mission societies 
of their secretary ; the Georgia Association of her 
clerk, and the state of a firm politician and her hon- 
ored chief. O, what an eventful death was Governor 
Rabun's ! The beauty of Georgia is fallen ! 

" He is gone, but in glorious hope : — a hope which 
he obtained in Christ ' as the end of the law for righte- 
ousness to every one that believeth,' after a severe 
conflict of soul under that conviction which the divine 
Spirit affords of sin, of righteousness, and judgment ; 
and which sustained him from seventeen years of 
age till death, as ' an anchor to the soul, sure and 
steadfast.' 

" In death [he was] resigned in the arms of Jesus, 
and cried, 'now lettest thou thy servant depart in 
peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.' Yes, 
fellow citizens of the General Assembly, and other 
auditors, there is a power in the gospel of Christ that 
* makes a dying bed feel soft as downy pillows are;' 
and the consistent, dying Christian, leaning his head 
on the breast of redemption, 'breathes his life out 
sweetly there.' And thus died Goveror Rabun. His 
remains are deposited in the gloomy mansions of the 
dead, where clustering sorrows grow with luxuriance, 
and the silence of death flourishes in vernal bloom, 
but his departed spirit is gone to that unknown re- 
gion wfeere ' the clock strikes one, and the pendulum 
vibrates ever always, ever always, ever always, and 
the clock strikes no more.' "* 

* The following condensed sketch of the life of Gov. Rabun is from 
Mr. Sherwood's Gazetteer of the State of Georgia: " Hon. Win. Ra- 
ban was born in Halifax County, North Carolina, April, 1771. His 



JESSE MERCER. 55 



EATONTON. 



In 1818, a commodious house of worship was 
erected in Eatonton, Putnam county, by the commu- 
nity at large, for the accommodation of several reli- 
gious denominations, and the Baptists amongst the 
rest. On November 17th of the same year, a Baptist 
church was constituted with ten members, Elijah 
Moseley and Frederick Crowder, acting as the Pres- 
bytery on the occasion. From this beginning, respec- 
table for its worth, though small in numbers, has risen 
up a most liberal, pious, efficient and well disciplined 
church. Much of its early prosperity is no doubt to 
be attributed to the valuable labors of Mr. Mercer. 
Yielding to the urgent solicitations of the little band, 
he took charge of the church on the 25th of January, 
1820, and continued as its pastor till the close of 1826. 
Much of the last year, however, he was absent from 
the church. During his connexion with it, about 
sixty were added by baptism, and forty by letter. 
In the years 1827 and '8, under the ministry of 
Brother Sherwood, his esteemed successor in the pas- 
toral office, the church was blessed with large and 
valuable accessions ; to what extent the previous la- 
father removed to Georgia while he was a young man. He was an 
able representative from Hancock a number of years, and long Pre- 
sident of the Senate and Governor ex-officio, and also Governor from 
1817 to 1819. Mr. Rabun was truly a religious man. He united 
with the Baptist church now worshipping at Powclton, in 1787 or '8. 
His house was the house of prayer. To all the benevolent institu- 
tions of the day he lent his influence and his purse. It was a pleas- 
ing sight to witness the Governor of the state taking the lead in 
singing at a country church. Office did not bloat him as it does 
some. He died while Governor, at his plantation, near Powelton, 
October, 1819." 



56 MEMOIRS OF 

bors of Mr. Mercer, may, under God, have contri- 
buted to this glorious result, the writer is not prepared 
to say, yet it can hardly be doubted that more or less 
of the fruit of his tears and prayers, and faithful in- 
structions, was mingled >yth that copious harvest. 
The revival which commenced in Eatonton in 1827, 
was not long confined to the place ; it seemed to be 
the beginning of a blessed and wide-spread religious 
excitement, which resulted in the addition of some 
twelve or fourteen thousand to the Baptist churches 
of Georgia. 

It might not be improper to state, that in 1824 and 
'25, the Baptist State Convention (then denominated 
the General Association,) held its sessions at Eaton- 
ton. On one of these occasions, Mr. Mercer preached 
a missionary sermon, which was followed by a collec- 
tion from the congregation of $220. 

The session o the first named year was one of pe- 
culiar interest. The memory of many Christian friends 
still living, clings to that occasion with strong and 
tender fondness, as one of the brightest spots in the 
range of their spiritual history. The presence and 
labors of the Rev. Basil Manly, then young in the 
ministry, who had spent some portion of 1819 with 
the church as a licentiate, added much to the interest 
of the occasion. He preached the word with unusual 
unction and power. Weeping congregations hung 
upon his lips for three successive days. During his 
discourse on the Sabbath, a large congregation were 
continually bathed in tears. In a letter to the writer, 
in which brother Manly refers with much emotion to 
some of the incidents of that memorable day, he 
says : " I dare say you will find many in Georgia who 
recollect the facts. Among others, one of the brother 



JESSE MEttCER. 57 

Milners was present, whom I remember especially 
for this, that when we came down out of the pulpit to 
meet the rushing crowd for prayer, this brother Milner 
fell on his knees, and began a prayer more remarka- 
bly tender and meltmg han any I ever heard; in 
which he thanked God that he himself had had a pious 
mother. His prayer was a sort of soliloquy, a tissue 
of penitence and faith arid rapture, of supplication 
and joy and triumph :- — and the place was glorious." 

Whilst connected with the Eatonton church, Mr7 
Mercer was favored with the co-operation of some 
brethren of much efficiency and rare Christian w^orth. 
Amongst these, stood forth in striking prominence, 
the late pious and excellent Thomas Cooper. He 
was baptized by Mr. Mercer in Powelton, in 1811, 
removed to Eatonton and connected himself with the 
Baptist church in that place in 1822, and in 1824 
was ordained one of its deacons. Brother Cooper 
was scarcely less distinguished as a lay member, than 
Mr. Mercer was as a minister. In him were joined to 
a native intellect remarkably clear, discriminating 
and vigorous, the most excellent qualities of heart ; 
and all was sanctified by fervent and exalted piety. 
Three times a day would he retire to commune with 
God. For the last twelve or fifteen years of his life, 
this wise and venerable man was an humble pupil in a 
bible class. His faithfulness, in encouraging, counsel- 
ling, and if necessary, reproving his brethren, was wor- 
thy of all praise ; and as a judicious, watchful, conscien- 
tious, punctual, pains-taking deacon, a brighter model 
has never appeared in our churches. His pecuniary 
bounties were scattered over a broad field with a libe- 
ral hand. For many years before he died, his entire 
income beyond his necessary expenses was conse- 

4 



58 MEMOIRS OF 

crated to pious purposes ; and towards the close of 
life, his benefactions would sometimes encroach upon 
his capital. For a long time, to the writer's know- 
ledge, he contributed annually one hundred dollars to 
each of some half a dozen religious objects ; whilst 
his extra contributions of from one hundred to one 
thousand dollars, (unknown indeed to many,) were 
not unfrequent. In his last will and testament, the 
claims of Zion were as sacredly remembered as the 
children of his own body. Long will it be before we 
shall see in our midst such a minister as Jesse Mercer, 
and perhaps as long before we shall see such a deacon 
as Thomas Cooper. He entered into his rest, July, 
1843, in the 73d year of his age. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Number of immediate conversions not a certain test of a minister's 
usefulness. — Mr. Mercer set for the defence of the gospel. — His 
care to establish his churches in the truth. — Skilful to aid the 
tempted. — AnecdoTes. — His caution in receiving members. — Abl« 
disciplinarian. — His manner of presiding at church meetings. — His 
punctuality.— No respecter of persons. — His churches benevolent. 
— Defects in the prevailing system of pastoral labor. — Mr. Mercer 
in revivals. — His views on revivals. — Ministerial support. — Esti- 
mation in which he was held. 

Few ministers in our country have scattered more 
faithfully and copiously the unadulterated seed of di- 
vine truth than Mr. Mercer, though it would seem 
from the preceding sketch, that his labors did not re- 
sult in the immediate and frequent ingathering of 
large crowds into his church. ' There are no doubt 



JESSE MERCER. 59 

many now in heaven, and a goodly number now on 
their pilgrimage to the promised land, who recognise 
him as the honored instrument of their conversion ; 
yet it is highly probable that there have been many 
ministers of inferior gifts, and of a lower grade of 
piety, who have been more directly successful in 
turning sinners from the error of their ways. Those 
indeed are highly favored instruments whose mes- 
sages of love the Lord is pleased in an eminent de- 
gree, to clothe with effectual and convincing power, 
and whose personal labors he employs in gathering 
multitudes into the fold of Christ. Every minister 
should humbly covet this honor, should labor with 
holy and fervent intensity, for the speedy conversion 
of his people — of all his people ; and if from year to 
year, his labors seem unfruitful, it should be with him 
a matter of solemn and honest inquiry, whether there 
may not be some radical deficiency in his faith and 
zeal, his preparation and his prayers; or in the man- 
ner and matter of his communications from the pul- 
pit ; or in his more private labors for the good of 
souls ; or whether he may not have mistaken his par- 
ticular and appropriate field of labor. But after all, 
it must be remembered, that the number of immediate 
conversions is to be regarded as a very imperfect 
standard of a minister's usefulness. In the ingather- 
ing of sinners, we see the result of the combined in- 
fluence of a thousand instrumentalities, and for aught 
we can tell, of a thousand laborers ; and who can de- 
termine the precise amount of usefulness that is to be 
put to the credit of each instrumentality, of each la- 
borer ] For the want of just and proper reflection on 
this point, many eminently pious and useful ministers 
are often undervalued, and it may be said dishonored 



60 MEMOIRS OF 

by their brethren ; whilst others, whose labors seem 
to be more directly and visibly successful, are ca- 
ressed and praised as the only ones whose services 
are to be much esteemed, and by whom the cause of 
Christ can be well sustained. Who but Omniscience 
can properly decide the question of relative impor- 
tance and usefulness ] There are various departments 
of labor in the great field which is to be cultivated, 
and a great diversity of gifts are required that they 
may all be properly filled. It does not accord with 
the arrangements of infinite wisdom that all possible 
excellencies shall be concentrated in every individual 
whose duty it may be to preach the orospel ; nor that 
the usefulness of all should be manifested in the same 
way. There are some to plant, and some to water ; 
some to sow and some to reap ; some to lay the foun- 
dation, and others to carry up the superstructure. 
Here is a brother who, the first year of his ministry, 
was the instrument in one small neighborhood of con- 
verting a hundred souls. He is highly honored; we 
bless the Lord for such a laborer. But who has been 
the most useful in God's account, he, as the highly fa- 
vored instrument of their immediate conversion ; or 
the venerable man of God, who for twenty or thirty 
years, poured the lessons of divine truth upon the 
minds and consciences of the people, and by the 
faithful training of their moral sensibilities, prepared 
them for the hearty and saving reception of the gos- 
pel message ; or the man of capacious mind and ex- 
alted piety, who, a hundred years before, and a thou- 
sand miles distant, brought into operation a benevo- 
lent enterprise, by which the gospel was ultimately 
carried to that community, a church reared up, the 
regular and long continued administration of the or- 



JESSE MERC&R. 6i 

dinances secured, and many important auxiliary plans 
brought into healthful operation ] These inquiries 
are propounded to show how difficult it must be to 
determine the relative usefulness- of those whom the 
Lord employs as instruments in advancing his cause 
and kingdom on earth. They are well calculated to 
furnish those with motives to humility, who are per- 
mitted to reap large harvests of immortal souls, as 
well as to present the most cheering grounds of en- 
couragement to those who sow the seed in darkness 
and tears ; whilst all shculd be stimulated to faithful 
and unwearied efforts in their respective spheres, to 
promote the great common cause of righteousness 
and truth; since they are assured by the infallible 
word of God, that the toils and sacrifice of each ar:d 
all are ^needful in their place ; that their labors shall 
not be in vain in the Lord, and that the weeping sow- 
er, and the joyful reaper shall at last meet and tri- 
umph together. 

If, in the manner already alluded to, the labors of 
Mr. Mercer were not as extensively blessed as those 
of some other servants of Christ, yet in other respects, 
not less important, when viewed in all their results, 
he stood upon an elevation which has seldom been 
reached, even by the most gifted and eminent minis- 
ters in our land. 

It may be said of him, that, in a peculiar sense, he 
was set for the defence of the gospel. Its great lead- 
ing truths he had studied intensely and profoundly; 
and if in the clear, well-defined, original, and masterly 
exhibition of these truths from the pulpit, he has had 
superiors, or even equals, amongst the Baptists of our 
country, they certainly have been rare. 

Mr. Mercer took much pains to establish his churches 



62 MEMOIRS or 

in the truth. He fed the lambs — he fed the sheep. 
He seemed at all times to entertain a deep and solemn 
sense of his ministerial responsibility, and kept back 
nothing which he considered would be profitable to 
his brethren. He labored under fewer temptations 
than most men to pass by, or soften down, an unpal- 
atable doctrine, out of regard to the unreasonable pre- 
judices of his hearers ; with the true spirit of Christian 
boldness and intrepidity, he rose above the frowns of 
men, the complaints and cavilling of the carnal heart, 
and proclaimed fearlessly, though affectionately, the 
message which he had received from the Lord. He 
studied duty; consequences he left w T ith the Master 
whom he served. By frequently presenting, in their 
scriptural connexions, those doctrines which have been 
most condemned by the unregenerate, and which 
sometimes are converted into stumbling blocks by 
w r eak believers, his people were generally convinced 
that they were doctrines that tended to godliness ; and 
even those of his stated hearers whose hearts did not 
become reconciled to these soul-humbling themes, in 
view of his clear illustrations and overpowering argu- 
ments, were compelled to regard them as integral and 
inseparable parts of the system of revealed truth. 
Churches enjoying the stated ministrations of such 
ministers as Mr. Mercer, would not be easily driven 
about by every wind of doctrine ; happily defended 
against the sly insinuations of artful deceivers, as well 
as the more direct assaults of men of corrupt minds. 

Let it not be supposed, from what has been said, 
that Mr. Mercer failed to instruct his churches in the 
practical duties of Christianity. These, in their place, 
were faithfully enforced, and often with great power. 
The readiness of his people to engage in works of be- 



JESSE MERCER. 63 

nevolence, the enlarged views which they took of their 
relation to a world lying in wickedness and death, af- 
ford pleasing evidence that there^was nothing in the 
tenor of Mr. Mercer's instructions, calculated to en- 
courage, amongst his brethren, the spirit of antinomian 
slumber. Yet being well persuaded that a correct 
and godly practice must be based upon a sound scrip- 
tural faith, he was more painstaking than most minis- 
ters, to establish his hearers in right views of doctrinal 
truth. The influence of Mr. Mercer's preaching upon 
the community generally, where he statedly labored, 
was of a salutary character, tending to the suppression 
of vice, and the encouragement of quietness, order, 
and sound morality. It was once remarked by an in- 
telligent and observing individual, thaj: the standard of 
morality, amongst the youth connected with Mr. Mer- 
cer's congregations, was decidedly more elevated than 
amongst the same class in other congregations in the 
surrounding country. 

In explaining to his people the character of a gos- 
pel church, its materials, its design, its ordinances 
and laws, he performed the part of a well-instructed 
scribe. There are multitudes, who well remember 
with what clearness and ability these various and im- 
portant subjects were unfolded in his pulpit exposi- 
tions. " Judge Cobb," says Mr. Sherwood, " who was 
many years in congress, was a great admirer of his 
talents and originality. He had incidentally, in a dis- 
course which was listened to by many of the bar, dis- 
cussed the subject of baptism. On retiring, Judge 
Cobb exclaimed to the lawyers in his loud, blunt man- 
ner, * Who of your ministers can beat that V " 

He was not ignorant of Satan's devices, and pos- 
sessed great skill in disengaging the minds of his 



64 MKMoiaa or 

brethren from the temptations of the adversary. In 
cases of spiritual distress, his brethren valued the 
sympathy and counsel of Mr. Mercer above those of 
any other man, and almost innumerable were the 
cases in which, under such circumstances, application 
was made to him for instruction. We may be excused 
for referring to one or two instances. " I know an 
old brother," (the instances are presented in the lan- 
guage of his uncle,) "full fifty years of age, and who 
had been for twenty years a member of the church, 
that got into great darkness and distress about his 
spiritual state ; so much so, that he mounted his horse 
and rode twenty-five miles to lay his case before him. 
He found him at home, and soon contrived to draw him 
aside, when, with great concern, he told his errand, 
and in conclusion, remarked, ' I would not, for a thou- 
sand worlds, say that I am a Christian? ' Would 
you/ said he, l for as many worlds, say you are not a 
Christian V * No, I would not/ ' Do you believe 
the devil suggests to one deceived, that he is deceived, 
and strives to convince him of it V ' Certainly not.' 
'Do you not believe he often worries the Christian 
by such suggestions, persuading him that he is de- 
ceived, and in proof of it, calls to his mind his daily 
departures from the path of rectitude and purity V 
' No doubt of it.' By this short category, and by nar- 
rating some of his own trials, the brother was greatly 
relieved, and went home with a light heart. 

" Another brother, who had not been long in the 
church, while reading the scriptures regularly through, 
was greatly shocked at many of the heinous sins of the 
saints of old, particularly some of the acts of Lot and 
of David. He inquired within himself, how could 
holy men commit such deeds ? Could the vilest of 



JESSE MERCER. 65 

sinners do worse ! He reasoned upon the matter, 
until he was almost persuaded that religion was a 
farce, and the scriptures an imposture. Whilst he 
was in great distress, he had an interview with my 
nephew, and communicated the whole to him. * Why/ 
said he, ' if the scriptures had recorded none but vir- 
tuous and holy acts of the ancient saints, they would 
not have met my case ; but they give an honest and 
impartial history of their lives ; their bad and their 
good acts are alike recorded, and from their weak- 
ness I gather strength.' The brother received the 
explanation, and found its application in himself, and 
though living to this day, has not since been annoyed 
by such reflections." 

In receiving members into the church, he exercised 
a prudent caution. Whilst he would not throw im- 
pediments in the way of the worthy and deserving, he 
was not favorable to that incautious haste with which 
some ministers hurry individuals forward to baptism. 
He desired to find, in every case, a sound scriptural 
experience. That comfort which is preceded by 
clear and profound views of the evil nature of sin, 
and the awful plague of the human heart, in connex- 
ion with a proper conception of the plan of salvation 
by a crucified Redeemer, afforded him great satisfac- 
tion. He once exposed and rebuked some mistaken 
notions of Christian experience in -a rather singular 
manner, and yet in a way quite in character with him- 
self. An individual came before the church for the 
purpose of giving some account of what he conceived 
to be the dealings of God with his soul. He had con- 
siderable to say about his own tenderness and feeling, 
and seemed to lay much stress on that fact, without 
being able to give a very satisfactory account of the 

4* 



66 MEMOIRS or 

reason why he felt so much. Mr. Mercer related an 
anecdote. " When I was a boy/' said he, " my father 
sent me out into the woods to call up the stock. I 
took my wallet of corn and went out, and to amuse 
myself, called the swine in a very sad and melancholy 
tone. As I was proceeding in this way, the first I 
knew I found myself weeping at the mournful sound 
of my own voice.' ' The application of the circum- 
stance was not difficult. The individual concerned, 
and all present, were very forcibly reminded, that 
mere tenderness and animal excitement, form but a 
small part of Christian experience. 

In expounding and carrying into practical effect the 
principles of gospel discipline, Mr. Mercer was truly 
a master in Israel. He had studied the regulations oi 
the Saviour for the government of his church with the 
greatest attention, and though, upon every point, his 
decisions may not accord with the opinions of all his 
brethren, yet on the whole, he must be regarded as 
one of the most judicious, correct, and able expound- 
ers of discipline, that has ever been connected with 
the Baptist denomination. With just and sound views 
upon nearly every subject connected with the govern- 
ment of the church, he united an admirable talent for 
administering that government wisely and efficiently, 
He generally acted with great faithfulness, firmness, 
and decision, feeling that for the proj)er exercise of 
the ministerial authority, which he had received from 
the great head of the church, he was to be held ac- 
countable. " He used frequently to impress on his 
brethren/' says a Christian friend, " in regard to dis- 
cipline, the importance of straight-forward business, 
and not to delay when matters were ripe for settle- 
ment. He was opposed to * dodging,' and attempts 



JESSE MERCER, 67 

at creeping out of responsibility. l It does not be- 
come the gospel. If I go according to the scriptural 
path/ he would observe, * I am safe, whether we ex- 
clude or retain.' " 

He presided at his church conference meetings 
with much gravity and ministerial decorum ; calling 
up business according to some just method, and not 
allowing questions under consideration to be entan- 
gled and swallowed up with extraneous matter. Dur- 
ing the discussion of a subject, irregularity and dis- 
order seldom went unreproved ; " even the whispers 
of an old sister/' says one, " could scarcely escape a 
reprimand." A listless and languid manner of attend- 
ing to the business of the Lord, he greatly disap- 
proved. Many years ago, the clerk of one of his 
churches was calling over the names of the male 
members preparatory to the adjournment of the con- 
ference. It was a cold day and a cold church. The 
members answered to their names in such a lifeless 
tone of voice, that they could scarcely be heard; and 
in some cases, the languid answer would not come 
until the name had been two or three times repeated. 
The clerk, however, patiently continued to call the 
names, and attentively to listen for the answers, until 
he had finished the list. Mr. Mercer, whose head all 
the while had been hanging very low, arose from his 
seat with much concern on his countenance, and 
gravely said, " tvell, brethren, if your religion is as 
weak as your voices, it is weak indeed ; let us pray?' 
The reproof was deeply felt, and during the prayer, 
which was the concluding service, many heavy groans 
were heard, apparently acknowledging the justness 
of the minister's rebuke. " Its good effects," adds 
the narrator of the above circumstance, " were mani- 



tfS MEMOIRS Or 

fest for a great while, and I doubt if its influence is 
entirely lost to this day." 

Mr. Mercer was remarkably punctual in meeting 
all his appointment^. It would be difficult to find a 
brighter example in this respect, in the whole history 
of ministerial labor. Nothing but sickness, or some 
other unavoidable necessity was ever allowed to keep 
him from his meetings, or even to delay his arrival at 
the appointed place later than the usual hour. Small 
impediments he found no difficulty in surmounting. 
For instance, if he came to a creek swollen to a dan- 
gerous torrent, he could strip his horse, drive him 
across the stream, and with his saddle and saddle-bags 
on his back, search out for himself a crossing place 
on some log or fallen tree. This he once did on his 
way to a Saturday meeting at Bethesda. At the next 
monthly meeting, some of the brethren in making 
their excuses for absence at the previous conference, 
observed that they started for the meeting, but upon 
finding the creek impassable, they returned. " If you 
had waited a little longer," replied Mr. Mercer, " I 
would have shown you the way!'' Xo man was better 
qualified than he, to show to others the way in regard 
to the prompt and exact discharge of duty. On ano- 
ther occasion, after he had been for a long time en- 
gaged in the ministry, he was travelling in his carnage, 
and was compelled, by high waters, to turn aside from 
his meeting and spend the Sabbath at the house of a 
pious Baptist sister. He seemed very restless, and 
often walked the house in great apparent disquietude. 
The kind sister inquired into the cause of his uneasi- 
ness. " Ah," said he, " I feel like a fish out of water; 
this is the very first time, since the commencement of 
my ministry,, that I have been absent from public 






JESSE MERCER. 89 



worship on the Sabbath, when my health would allow 
my attendance/ ' 

He was equally punctual in his attendance on the 
business meetings of his brethren, where his presence 
was expected ; and when present on such occasions, 
he was not like many, who hurry business through to 
a premature conclusion, or break abruptly away be- 
fore it is finished ; he could find time and patience 
for the due consideration of every important matter, 
and seldom left till the business of the meeting was 
all properly disposed of 

In his intercourse with his brethren, he was no re- 
specter of persons ; there was great uniformity in the 
manner in which he treated the rich and the poor, the 
ignorant and the more refined. When he visited his 
more distant churches, he would spend his nights, first 
with one, and then with another, without regard to 
the distinctions of rank and wealth ; leaving none any 
ground to make the complaint, which is sometimes 
urged against ministers, that he was always careful to 
search out those places where he could get the best 
suppers and the most comfortable bedding. 

It has already been intimated, that Mr. Mercer's 
churches were forward to acknowledge the claims of 
benevolence. In this respect, they stood in the front 
ranks. His own bright example, his frequent appeals 
from the pulpit, and his private, personal applications 
to persons in and out of the church, were generally 
successful in securing a respectable tribute for the 
treasury of the Lord. He accomplished less by the 
agency of societies, than many have done, thinking it 
best, in the general, for the churches, as such, to act 
as benevolent societies, without too many separate or- 
ganizations. Where churches, however, were divided 



70 MEMOIRS OF 

in sentiment as to benevolent operations, or were not 
disposed to act efficiently, he was ever forward to en- 
courage these other auxiliary measures. 

So many churches were resting upon his pastoral 
care, and so large was the territory to be occupied by his 
ministry, it would appear next to impossible for Mr. 
Mercer to perform all those labors, and carry into 
complete, practical operation, all those plans, which 
would seem to be important to meet all the spiritual 
wants of his people. The sick could not always be 
visited ; intimate and frequent personal intercourse 
could not be kept up with the scattered members of 
his various flocks ; and on this account, their spiritual 
wants being in some respects imperfectly understood, 
there could not have been as perfect an adaptation of 
ministerial instruction to all the varied necessities of 
his people as would have been desirable. And how 
could it be expected, that in the number of discourses 
which he delivered to his several churches, notwith- 
standing the rich and faithful instructions which they 
contained,- there could be imbodied, without a mira- 
cle, that unbroken compass and full variety of scrip- 
tural truth, so important for xh& perfecting of the saints, 
and the complete edifying of the body of Christ, 

Never can the churches be brought up to their ma- 
tured strength and glory, until there is poured upon 
them a more complete and powerful concentration of 
pastoral labor and influence, than is allowed by that 
scattered, diluted system, which too generally prevails 
in our southern churches. In addition to the evils al- 
ready hinted at, the system has a direct tendency to 
prevent the proper improvement and useful employ- 
ment, of many of our ministerial gifts. The churches, 
being too well satisfied with their monthly supplies, 



JESSE MERCER. HL 

an order of things which, in many instances, originated 
in the peculiar necessities of our denomination in the 
early settlement of the country, have very naturally 
been disposed to seek the services of the most popu- 
lar preachers, though they might reside twenty, or fifty 
miles distant, and overlook the less improved and 
shining gifts springing up in their midst. Had these 
gifts been properly nurtured, the churches might 
have had an ample supply of useful pastors ; and en- 
joying the constant ministrations of faithful men, 
though of but moderate abilities, how much more 
healthful would have been their condition, than with 
the occasional and desultory labors of more gifted 
ministers. But this system, which would have called 
at first for a little more patience and self-denial, and 
perhaps pecuniary aid, did not suit the taste of our 
brethren : " Give us at once the fruit from those choice 
vines, and if we can obtain but now and then a small 
supply, we shall be satisfied. "We had rather have 
the monthly labors of Abram Marshall, or James Arm- 
strong, or Jesse Mercer, than the constant attendance of 
brother such a one, and brother such a one." What 
was the consequence 1 The branches of our noble 
vines were spread over such extended fields, that their 
rich fruit fell in scattered clusters ; whilst many pious 
and precious brethren, that, with sufficient encourage- 
ment, might have risen to respectability, languished in 
the shade. The subject of this memoir has been heard 
to lament the evil ; and it is more than probable, that 
this consideration was not overlooked, when, in sub- 
sequent years, he was induced to limit his labors to a 
narrower field. But notwithstanding what has juct 
been said, it is with peculiar satisfaction the writer 
records the fact, that but few ministers in our country 



J MEMOIRS OF 

have more fully and faithfully occupied a field of the 
same extent. Before advancing years and bodily in- 
firmities called for some relaxation, he was in labors 
abundant. A formal, monthly visit to his churches, 
was far from meeting his views of ministerial duty ; 
he spent a large portion of his time in holding meet- 
ings in contiguous and intermediate neighborhoods, 
sometimes preaching day and night for weeks in suc- 
cession. By these zealous and multiplied labors, 
some of the evils of the system complained of were 
greatly mitigated ; much precious seed was scattered 
far and wide ; multitudes were brought under the in- 
fluence of Mr. Mercer's wise instructions, and not a 
few were aroused by his warnings to timely reflection, 
and induced to flee from the wrath to come. 

" He always/' says a friend who sat many years 
under his ministry, " wore an aspect of deep solemnity 
in times of revival, seemed to feel deeply his respon- 
sibility, and to take the sincerest interest in the salva- 
tion of his hearers, especially such as were mourning 
and weeping on account of their sins, and crying, 
what shall we do to be saved ? On such occasions, he 
would hold on, and preach, exhort, and pray, night 
and day, warning the unfeeling and impenitent, and 
instructing and encouraging the humble and contrite. 
On the part of the latter, I have observed him when 
he would apparently pour forth his whole soul in 
prayer, at the same time calling to their minds the in- 
vitations and promises of the gospel ; and so deeply 
would he feel, and so solemn and devout would be 
his exercises, that the whole congregation would be 
wrapped in the profoundest silence. Many were 
brought to the knowledge of the truth through his in- 
strumentality, and such was his constant zeal, his se- 



, 



JESSE MERCER. 73 



rious deportment, and devout conversation, that he 
seemed to give tone and depth to the revivals in which . 
he was engaged." 

From the foregoing, it is evident that Mr. Mercer 
was a believer in the reality and desirableness of re- 
vivals of religion, and that he labored to encourage 
and promote them amongst his churches. How often 
and feelingly he repeated the quotation, " Lord, revive 
us, Lord, revive us" in his letters to pious friends, 
many can well remember. He probably depended 
more upon the stated and uniform administration of 
the means of grace, and less upon special and extra- 
ordinary efforts, than many of his brethren ; yet upon 
all suitable occasions, he was ready to assist at pro- 
tracted meetings, and he generally brought to them a 
fervent, prayerful and anxious heart. On such occa- 
sions, he never lost sight of the absolute necessity of 
the Spirit's influence to give efficacy to the means of 
grace. This sentiment seemed to be interwoven, in the 
most complete, scriptural, and engaging manner, with 
his prayers, his exhortations and preaching. Every 
thing like glorying in men and measures, to the for- 
getfulness of human weakness, and the glory of God, 
his humble, holy spirit, deeply deplored and sincerely 
loathed. He had no fellowship for forced, unnatural, 
and mechanical efforts to move the sympathies, " an d 
get up a revival" Every thing boisterous, confusing 
and disorderly, in the progress of religious meetings, 
was abhorrent from his judgment and feelings. " Let 
every thing be done decently and in order," was the 
rule which he inculcated on others, and by which his 
own course was habitually governed. 

Some of Mr. Mercer's views upon the subject of 
revivals may be learned from the following extracts 



74 MEMOIRS OF 

from a communication published in the Christian In- 
dex, in 1832 : " I have little difficulty with C. S. A. 
in all he has said of ' Christian obligation,' in regard 
to revivals. I would not take a jot or tittle from it, 
but still I do not admit that a revival is the result of 
this obligation, performed in its most pure degree, but 
rather that the highest state of practical godliness, 
which we ever witness, is produced by the revival it- 
self. I think it probable your excellent correspondent 
and I do not understand each other. He seems to 
have his eye fixed on the practical, while mine is in- 
tensely directed to the radical cause. He is looking 
at the issue of living waters ; I am examining for the 
reservoir of divine power and efficacious grace. * # * 

" When men grasp the means, even of God's ap- 
pointment, with a design of accomplishing the end, 
both shall be nothing, except it be to produce Ishmael- 
ites — sons of the Jlesh. It is one thing for men to 
take hold of the means, as agents, and go to work like 
Jehu, to show their zeal for the Lord of Hosts ; and 
quite another thing to go forth with equal zeal, but 
with entire dependence on the power that moves them, 
like the axe, or saw, shaken by the hand of a cunning 
workman. I have seen, (as it appears to me,) too 
much leaning to the efficiency of means, (or to the suf- 
ficiency of human ability to comply,) if they were 
faithfully plied. Thus the success of some ministers 
in the conversion of sinners, more than others, has 
been merged into the difference of mode used in ad- 
dressing them. As if, [were] the means rightly used, 
and sinners properly addressed, the success would 
necessarily follow, which to me robs God of his glory. 

" What we often hear of getting up and continuing 
-revivals, seems to be too of the same sort. As if, 



JESSE MERCER. 75 

whenever Christians will unite in, and faithfully use 
the means, a revival will of consequence follow ; 
which renders the cause of the conversion of sinners, 
into the faithful use of the means, or holds God de- 
pendent on his people for the success of his gospel. 
Not but Christians ought to live always in the faithful 
discharge of every duty, looking to God for his re- 
viving grace, to give effect to all their efforts. But I 
fear that revivals are too often gotten up in appearance 
only. That Satan, the better to effect his purposes, 
assumes the angel of light, and does wonders by the 
slight of men, I doubt not. When God works, Satan 
goes to work also. Thus it may be in revivals ; a 
great wind, followed by earthquake and fire, may rend 
the mountains and break the rocks of human passions, 
while God may pass on only in milder forms of divine 
power, at which the prophets of the Lord wrap their 
blushing faces in the mantle of humble acknowledg- 
ment. My desire is, that in the use of the means, 
whether for the revival of grace, or the awakening of 
sinners, lie that glories, may glory in the Lord." 

It has already been noticed, that in the early part 
of Mr. Mercer's ministry, he received but little pecu- 
niary assistance from his churches ; at a later period, 
as their resources improved, and they became better 
instructed in their duty, they afforded him a more 
ready and liberal compensation. Believing that it 
was a part of God's declared will, that he that preaches 
the gospel should live of the gospel, he was not afraid 
nor ashamed, on suitable occasions, to remind his 
brethren of their duty in this particular. The crim- 
inal backwardness of the churches in contributing of 
their carnal things to those who minister to them in 
spiritual things, he attributed, in a great measure, to 



76 MEMOIRS OF 

the unfaithfulness of ministers in not expounding to 
their brethren this portion of the counsel of God. 

But whilst he would have the churches discharge 
their duties to their pastors, he was very far from en- 
couraging his ministering brethren in the neglect of 
their solemn obligations. He would have them de- 
vote themselves wholly to the work of the ministry, 
casting themselves with a generous confidence upon 
the liberality of their brethren, and exercising, at all 
times, unshaken faith in the promises of the Lord. 
" It was a custom with him," says President Sher- 
wood, (to whom the writer of this memoir is indebted 
for much valuable assistance,) " to reason with his 
ministering brethren for their want of faith, especially 
if they engaged in secular pursuits, to the neglect of 
their sacred profession. ' There is no trust in God/ 
he would say, ' if a certain salary is secured you. Go 
out to labor in the Lord's vineyard constantly, and he 
will see to the support of your family.' If it were 
objected that some had tried it, and a sufficient sup- 
port had not been furnished, he would answer, that it 
was a half-hearted kind of faith, by which such were 
actuated, and not unshaken confidence in God, else a 
failure would not have hapjDened." 

In this connexion, a short extract from a letter writ- 
ten to the Rev. B. Manly, Nov. 13, 1825, might not be 
inappropriate. " I am very much pleased/' says he, 
" with the resolution you have formed, both as it 
respects your continuance where you are, and the 
making a fair trial ' whether a minister of Christ can- 
not be supported on gospel principles.' The views 
you take in regard to going to Philadelphia, (and I 
will add to Charleston,) are very proper and forcible. 
As it respects the 'fair trial' you must not be too 



JESSE MERCER. 77 

soon discouraged. And you must lay it up in your 
heart, (and Mrs. M. too,) that many temptations and 
great tribulations will come to your lot, and you will 
suffer many things, which a fashionable world around 
you, and those lusts which war in your members, which 
are unsanctified as yet, will call privations ; so that 
you must be willing to suffer, taking for your example, 
the Lord Jesus and his apostles." 

At this point, might it not be well to pause a mo- 
ment and solemnly inquire, if there has not been a 
great fault amongst ministers touching the important 
subject just brought to view. The churches, espe- 
cially in the Baptist denomination, have no doubt in- 
volved themselves in great criminality, by neglecting 
to provide properly for the temporal support of their 
pastors ; but does charity and truth forbid us to sup- 
pose, that this may often have been permitted by the 
Lord, as a just, though painful retribution to ministers 
for their worldly -mindedness and want of faith. They 
often complain of the churches, but in all cases are 
they certain that by faith, by enduring hardness as 
good soldiers, by a reasonable and patient continuance, 
by a prayerful, hearty, and entire devotion to their 
work, they have proved what the churches would do 
for their support, or rather, what the Lord, in his faith- 
fulness and love, would do for them % Can there be 
any doubt but what, if our young brethren would 
bring to their work more of that zeal, and energy, and 
" martyr spirit" which characterized the labors of 
apostolic days, and which Christ requires of all his 
ministers, and cast themselves upon the promises of 
God, and the Christian generosity of their brethren, a 
more ample and certain support might be expected 1 
The labors of such ministers would be valued and 



78 MEMOIRS OF 

sought for ; such devoted servants would be esteemed 
very highly in love for their work's sake ; and the 
churches, being abundantly comforted and edified by 
their ministrations, might be reasonably expected, in 
return, to communicate more liberally of their tempo- 
ral supplies. Are all those, who have made experi- 
ments and failed, certain that they have made " a fair 
trial ?" Are they certain that they have not made it 
with " a half -hearted kind of faith ?" When a min- 
ister is too soon discouraged, distrusts the Lord, and 
distrusts his brethren, and, to provide for his temporal 
wants, hastily, and incautiously encumbers himself 
with those wordly cares, which leave but a fragment 
of his time, and heart, and hands, for the duties of his 
calling, is it strange that his church, or churches, half- 
taught, half-disciplined, should fall into error on their 
part, and by their parsimonious policy, at last rivet 
permanently upon his hands, those fetters, which, in 
part at least, he had prepared for himself] There is 
no doubt a double fault : the ministers are in fault ; 
the churches are in fault ; and it becomes both 
churches and ministers to bemoan the evil which ex- 
ists, and seriously inquire into the causes which have 
produced it, and the remedies by which it might be 
healed. 

But to return to Mr. Mercer and his churches. It 
would be improper to close this chapter without say- 
ing something of the estimation in which he was held 
amongst the people where he labored. On this sub- 
ject, facts would justify the use of the strongest ex- 
pressions. Never was a minister more immoveably 
rooted in the respect, confidence, and affection of his 
people. There were many like the Galatians, who 
would have been ready, as it were, to have plucked out 



JESSE MERCER. 79 

their eyes and given them to him ; though, unlike the 
Galatians, their good will and devotion endured to the 
end. To all classes of the community he was an ob- 
ject of deep interest. Childhood and youth looked 
up to him with filial awe ; manhood and old age were 
ever ready to do him honor. The wise regarded him 
with admiration ; whilst the most illiterate could see 
enough in him to revere and love. Though he was a 
terror to evil doers, yet the profligate and profane, 
who would stand abashed in his presence, or even 
hide themselves from his view as he passed along the 
streets, would speak of him in terms of exalted com- 
mendation. Nor was it strange that all this should be 
so. Such an exhibition as he made, for a long series of 
years, of high intellectual power, sound, discriminating 
judgment, engaging and amiable virtues, strict and un- 
bending integrity in all his dealings with men, and 
above all, of sincere, honest, and undeviating devotion to 
the cause of his Divine Master, would naturally secure 
to him the position which he occupied in the hearts of 
his brethren, and the estimation of his fellow-citizens 
at large. He had his faults, and he had his enemies ; 
but the former were small in comparison with his vir- 
tues ; and the latter could never dislodge him from 
the affection and confidence of the people. The fol- 
lowing extracts from a letter written by one of his 
intimate friends, on hearing a report of Mr. Mercer's 
death, (which, however, soon proved to be erroneous) 
may serve as an illustration of the respect and attach- 
ment which were felt for him by those who knew him 
best. 



80 MEMOIRS OF 

" New-York, 2oth Aug., 1819. 
" Reuben T. Battle, Esq., 

" 3Iy Dear Friend : — On Monday last * * * I re- 
ceived from my son G. the melancholy tidings of the 
death of Rev. Jesse Mercer. I have one, and only 
one method, by which I can communicate my feelings 
on this awfully solemn and melancholy occasion, 
which is by referring you to your own feelings on the 
memorable 7th August, 1819, when this great herald 
of his Master — the faithful pastor of the church of 
Christ — the sincere and unassuming Christian — the 
lovely, loving and beloved friend — the kind and 
manly husband — the friendly neighbor — the sound 
and punctual dealer — your and my particular friend, 
made his exit from this world of sorrow and misery, 
to inhabit that heavenly mansion which his blessed 
Saviour had prepared for him. * * We know not 
how to estimate a blessing but by its loss. Oh, my 
dear Reuben, how shall we sustain the stroke ! New- 
York, and all the beauties of the north, are to me now 
worse than blanks : my Mercer is gone ! Oh, how 
often did his expressive eyes, (now sealed in death,) 
swim in tears, giving evidence of the ardor of his soul, 
whilst his humble and plaintive voice, with indescri- 
bable pathos, strongly supplicated the throne of grace 
for my poor soul, and the souls of my dear family, 
that we might be partakers of those invaluable bless- 
ings, which he himself so richly enjoyed. * * * 

" I am anxious to see Powelton and its inhabitants ; 
but oh, what shall I do, Mercer is gone ! The great 
Head of his church surely has a controversy with his 
people, or he would not so soon have called his ser- 
vant home. Oh, my friend, what shall we do, our 
Mercer is gone ! I shall leave this now dreary city 



JESSE MERCER. 81 

to-morrow. My respects to poor Mrs. Mercer and 
your family, Dr. Battle, and other friends. 
" Yours, truly, 

" Isaiah Tucker." 

" Philadelphia, 2Sth Aug. 1319, 

"Dear Sir : — 

" After having written the preceding lines in New- 
York, I concluded to come on and put it in the P. O. 
here. Dr. Holcombe shows me a letter from Fran- 
ces, three days after date of Germain's, and mentions 
a report contradicting that of Mercer's death, but that 
his physicians had given him over. Oh, my heart 
trembles in suspense ; but my hope is small indeed, 
I have written on to Germain to strew the road before 
me with letters, that I may be in possession of facts 
as soon as possible. 

" Yours, I. T\" 



CHAPTER V. 



Mr. Mercer's labors on his journeys from home, at Associations, 
&c. — Circulates useful books. — His Cluster. — Extracts from his 
Correspondence. — His relation to political affairs. 

In estimating the extent and value of Mr. Mercer's 
ministerial labors, we are by no means to confine our 
attention to those bestowed upon his churches, and 
regions immediately contiguous. The destitution of 
more distant communities called forth his benevolent 
and useful exertions, and often, either in company 
with other zealous preachers, or by himself, he would 

5 



82 MEMOIRS OF 

make lengthy excursions, proclaiming with great 
power the gospel of the kingdom. He not only trav- 
elled extensively in his own state, but often extended 
his routes into neighboring states. There has already 
been an allusion to his visit to North Carolina in com- 
pany with his father. Most of the year 1799 he spent 
in travelling and preaching in the states of South Car- 
olina, North Carolina and Virginia. On this tour he 
travelled upwards of three thousand miles. He also 
visited the city of Charleston once or twice, preached 
with much acceptance to the people, and was much 
gratified with the Christian intercourse he there en- 
joyed with his Baptist brethren. 

Besides attending the annual meetings of the Geor- 
gia Association, and the State Convention, he was in 
the habit of visiting regularly, for several years, the 
Hephzibah, Sarepta, and Ocmulgee Associations, and 
occasionally several others in the state, and in South 
Carolina. On his way to these bodies, as well as on 
his return, he generally preached from place to place, 
always ready to embrace every opportunity to unfold 
the excellency of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. 
The great respect which was everywhere entertained 
for his Christian and ministerial character, generally 
secured large and attentive congregations ; and there 
are multitudes still living, who cherish, with peculiar 
delight, the remembrance of these occasional visits. 

At the annual meetings of these various religious 
bodies, he might be said truly to magnify his office, 
as a zealous and able minister of the New Testament. 
They were occasions well calculated to warm his af- 
fections, to arouse his intellectual powers, and unlock 
his rich store-house of Christian experience and scrip- 
tural knowledge. There would he often meet some 



JS-SSE MERCER. ®3 

of the aged veterans, with whom he had been associ- 
ated in the trials, and toils, and sacrifices of his youth- 
ful ministry. There would he find himself sur- 
rounded by many, who, in times past, had been con- 
victed under his preaching, or conducted by him to 
the Saviour's feet, or comforted by him in some sea- 
son of peculiar affliction, or ushered by his kind and 
■fatherly attentions into the ministry, or had received 
«ome other spiritual benefit from his stated or occa- 
sional ministrations. There also would be many, 
who had been familiar, from childhood, with the name 
of Jesse Mercer, but had never before been permitted 
to gaze upon his venerated form, and who were more 
•anxious to hear something from his lips than from 
those of any other minister living. Though he sought 
not the highest seat, yet the respect and affection of 
his brethren, generally assigned it to him ; he was 
almost invariably appointed to preach when he would 
iiave an opportunity of addressing the largest congre- 
gations. At such times, he would select some weighty 
doctrinal theme, or perhaps a subject that would lead 
him to discuss the merits of some of the leading be- 
nevolent operations of the age ; and cheered by the 
countenances of his brethren, and roused by the pre- 
sence of a vast .-and attentive assemblage, he would 
bring to his work the thoroughly awakened strength 
of his devout affections, and his original and power- 
ful mind, and pour forth his instructions with such 
clearness and force of argument, and with such sweet 
and tender pathos, as seldom failed to make a deep 
and lasting impression upon the assembled multitude. 
These occasions were highly valued by his minister- 
ing brethren ; and those preachers must have made 
great advancement in the knowledge of divine things, 



84 MEMOIRS Of 

who were not the wiser at the conclusion of his dis- 
courses. They were often entertained with such a 
lucid illustration of deep and difficult subjects, such 
a masterly exposure of error, such a satisfactory so- 
lution of perplexing cases of conscience, such a rich 
and delightful exposition of Christian experience, as 
could hardly fail to increase their store of scriptural 
knowledge, give a fresh impulse to their investiga- 
tions, suggest new and profitable trains of thought, 
and thus tend greatly to benefit them in their subse- 
quent ministerial labors. Few preachers could be 
named, who, in this way, have exerted a more power- 
ful influence upon the minds of other ministers : and 
it is through this channel that we are to search for 
much of the lasting and greatly extended usefulness 
of Mr. Mercer. 

In 1817 he attended the General Convention in 
Philadelphia, travelling through the Atlantic states in 
his own carriage, and preaching very frequently both 
going and returning. He also attended the meetings 
of that body * 1526, and 1835. 

By the appointment of the General Convention, he 
and Mr. Sherwood, in 1823, visited the Valley Towns 
Mission Station in North Carolina. His wife accom- 
panied him, as bhe did on many of his journeys ; and ^ 
their carriage passed over hills and mountains, which 
had never before witnessed such a conveyance. 
Whilst at the Valley Towns, Mr. Mercer had an op- 
portunity of preaching to the Indians, through an in- 
terpreter. 

In making an e he ministerial labors of 

Mr. Mercer, we must not omit the vast amount of ser- 
vice which he rendered at ministers' meetings, at the 
ordination of ministers, the constitution of churches, 



JESSE MERCER. 85 

the anniversaries of various benevolent societies, and 
the almost numberless protracted and general meet- 
ings, which he attended during his long and luminous 
career of more than half a century. On all such oc- 
casions, his presence and aid were most highly valued, 
and the salutary influence of his prayers and instruc- 
tions uniformly felt. 

Auxiliary to these labors, he was in the habit, for 
many years, of keeping on hand a small assortment of 
useful' religious works, such as Fuller's, Buck's, Life 
of Mrs. Judson, &c, which he carried with him on his 
numerous preaching tours, and sold to such as could 
be induced to purchase. In this way, he encouraged 
amongst his brethren a taste for useful- reading, and 
brought into circulation a large number of valuable 
publications. 

Finding a great want of hymn books for the use of 
the rapidly increasing churches, he compiled a small 
work called the " Cluster" This work was first pub- 
lished, unbound, in Augusta : subsequently two more 
editions were published in the same place, which were 
bound ; amounting in all to two thousand five hun- 
dred copies. Whilst attending the General Conven- 
tion, in 1817, in Philadelphia, he published a revised 
edition of two thousand five hundred copies, and had 
the copyright secured. Editions were also published 
in 1820, 1826, and 1835. In this hymn book are to 
be found many valuable hymns, with other pieces less 
interesting : with some imperfections, it has, never- 
theless, had an extensive circulation in many parts of 
Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, and has comforted 
the hearts and animated the devotions of thousands of 
the saints of God. The work contains several hymns 
of his own composition, not, however, greatly distin- 



86 MEMOIRS OF 

guished for their poetical excellence ; for neither na- 
ture nor art ever bestowed upon Mr. Mercer the at- 
tributes of a j^oet. 

The following is inserted as a favorable specimen 
of the few hymns which Mr. Mercer composed. It 
appears in the Cluster as the second part of the 235tb 
hymn : 

" Resolving thus, I entered in, 

Though trembling and depressed ; 
I bowed before the gracious King, 
And all my sins confessed. 

" Sweet majesty and awful grace, 
Sat smiling on his brow ; 
He turned to me his glorious face, 
And made my eyes o'erflow, 

" He held the sceptre out to me, 
And bade me touch and live ; 
I touched, and (O, what mercy free !) 
He did my sins forgive. 

N I touched and lived, and learned to love,. 
And triumphed in my God ; 
I set my heart on things above, 
And S3.no- redeeming blood. 

" Come, sinners grieved, with sins distressed* 
And ready to despair, 
Take courage, though with guilt oppressed, 
Jesus still answers prayer. 

14 Come enter in with cheerful haste ; 
You may his glory see ; 
You may his richest mercy taste — * 
He has forgiven me." 



JESSE MERCER. 87 

Some extracts from Mr. Mercer's correspondence 
will now be introduced. They are selected from the 
letters which bear the earliest date of any that have 
fallen into the biographer's hands ; and one or two of 
these will form a very natural connexion with the 
foregoing sketch of his ministerial labors, as they 
bring to view his sentiments on some of the leading 
doctrines of the gospel, and his method of meeting 
the inquiries and difficulties of individuals in a state 
of concern about their salvation. The writer would 
here beg leave to observe, once for all, that there is 
but little in the letters of Mr. Mercer to gratify the 
wishes of the critical and fastidious : they are gene- 
rally written in the most unaffected style, not always 
with perfect grammatical correctness ; in the main, 
presenting a just and fair reflection of the plain, sim- 
ple, transparent character of their author. Most of 
those, which will appear in this volume, it is believed 
will be acceptable, at least to his numerous surviving 
friends and acquaintances ; as these memorials will 
tend to revive, in a pleasing and impressive manner, 
their recollections of one whom they so much revered 
and loved. 

The following letter was addressed to a distant 
friend, who, in a state of religious anxiety, had sought 
his counsel : 

" Granisville, Green Co., Ga. 7 May 17, 1815. 

" My dear Sir : — 

" According to agreement, I received your very 
interesting introductory communication, when at 
Washington last, and have duly weighed its contents ; 
and now sit down to make an effort to comply with 
my promise. May the Lord bless it to your instruc- 



8 I MEMOIRS OF 

tion and camfbtf. You hate shown that you have al- 
D improved knowledge in the things which 
the kingdom of God, and a fervid desire 
the righteousness thereof. But still you desire 
me to direct you into a proper understanding- of the 
el. In order to a proper view of the gospel way 
ion, 'tis necessary to entertain just and ade- 
qual the state of sinful nature from which 

tnd which makes it necessary. In sinning 
against G have violated his law and come short 

of his glory, Rom. 3 : 23 ; — are obnoxious to divine 
thj and abhorrent to holiness, Rom. 1 : 13, and 
on : — and liable to everlasting banishment as our just 
desert. 2 Thes. 1 : 9. Ps. 25 : 4. Ezek. 7 : 27. This 
sentence of severe condemnation must be acknow- 
ledged just, not only as it is legal, but as it is an effort 
of divine justice to vindicate its own holiness against 
the total want of it in us. From this view of the case, 
the loss <-.<i the sinner seems inevitable. But God, 
who is rich in mercy, according to his great love to- 
h as, when we were dead in sin, hath abounded 
in all wisdom, and prudence, according to 
his eternal purpose in Christ, through whose blood 
we have redemption — the forgiveness of our sins. 

ich was the nature of our offence, that it re- 
quired an infinite satisfaction, or the satisfaction of an 
infinite Being ; therefore, it became him who should 
interpose, to be allied to us, and yet possess infi- 
3 capacities. God hath laid help on one that is 
to save, in sending Christ Jesus into the 
Id for this purpose ; he being verily our kinsman, 
ing the fulness of the Godhead bodily, 
render the violated law such obedience 
and igs as it required, and to give them such 



JESSfei AiiKCER. 89 

Vicarious merit as should be satisfactory to injured, 
infinite justice ; and so to bring in an everlasting 
righteousness for the justification of the ungodly, 
which a just and holy God could not do without 
such a righteousness, to render him justified in the 
act. Compare Dan. 9 : 24. with Rom. 1 : 17. 3 : 26. 
and 10 : 4* God accounting us in Christ, makes him to 
us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemp- 
tion. Wisdom, whereby we know our danger and 
remedy :— -righteousness, whereby we are acquitted 
from guilt according to law : — sanctification, whereby 
we are renewed, and saved from the damning nature 
of sin ; — redemption, whereby our sins are forgiven, 
and we receive the spirit of adoption in our hearts, 
crying Abba, Father. 1 Cor. 1 : 30, (Compare Rom. 
Rom. 3 :19, 20, with John 17 : 3. Acts. 13 : 39. Ezek, 
36 : 25, 26. 1 Cor. 6 : 11. Titus 3 : 5. E P h. 1 : 7. 
Titus 2 : 14.) All this Jesus Christ is to him that be- 
lieveth ; not to him that has any kind of faith, but to 
him whose faith is the fruit of the Spirit — the gra- 
cious gift of God. Gal. 5 : 22. Eph. 2 : 8. 

" You desire me to explain to you your difficult 
situation, and to give you counsel therein. This I 
will endeavor to do. You seem to yourself to have 
the requisite faith in Christ, and to be humble and 
sincere in prayer, and yet to be without grace, which 
staggers you. You seem, notwithstanding your faith 
and other virtuous exercises, to be barred from the 
mercy by the justice of God, which has excited won- 
der. This too has produced the embarrassment from 
the doctrine of election, of which you speak. Now, 
my dear sir, all this arises from a misapplication of 
these exercises and virtues. 'Tis the common opinion 
of mankind, that when they become believers in 
5* 



90 »f EMoras of* 

Christ, and make an humble, penitent, and sincere 1 
application for grace, it will follow. But it never was ! 
intended' of God, that salvation should follow these 
as- a cause, or condition. If it did as a cause, then 
these would supersede the necessity of the merits of 
Christ ; if as a condition, then salvation would be un- 
certain, if not impossible, because men could really 
perform no such condition. Besides, such a plan 
would make the sinner a partner in his salvation, and 
share the honor of it with God, who- is ever jealous 
of his glory, and will not give it to another. 

" The light of God has, I hope, so shone into your 
heart, as to convince you that thess are insufficient, 
and will lead you to know that they are not the rea- 
son, but the evidence of hope, when they exist in their 
proper degree, to which yours have not yet come. 
Your faith, ' good' as it is, has not yet appropriated 
the Saviour whom it has apprehended, and therefore 
leaves you without comfort. The light of nature, or 
a legal spirit, will endeavor to set you down securely 
on your present faith and duties ; but an enlightened 
conscience will never be satisfied without the sprink- 
ling of the blood of Jesus, who only can take away 
sins. When you are enabled to come to God in your 
true, though humbling character as a sinner, publi- 
can-like, you wfll cease to inquire * whether such 
prayers as yours can be heard/ or whether any of 
your exercises may be acceptable ; for then your 
eyes, your dying eyes will be turned to Christ, from 
whose expiatory sacrifice all pleas for acceptance will 
be sought and found. Then election will open to 
your view in a new and striking light, a glorious door 
of hope. You will have been brought to see the ut- 
ter inapplicability of the conditional j">lan to you, who 



JESSE MERCER. 91 

can neither fulfil the law in works nor faith, and of 
course your thoughts on such a plan, can only go out 
to meet despair. But in God's eternal purpose you 
will see the means as well as the ends alike finished. 
Here God designs to show mercy to those who seem 
least to deserve it ; and provides salvation for those 
who have neither money nor price to obtain it. Ps. 
68 : 18. Isa. 55 : 1. Examine the beatitudes in Matt. 
5th chapter. Notice to whom the promises apply the 
provisions of the gospel. The dead, sick, poor, heavy- 
laden, ungodly, and lost. To one brought into these 
characters by the quickening spirit, the sovereign and 
free grace of God opens the only sovereign remedy, 
and anchor of hope. 

" My counsel is that you search the scriptures, (John 
5 : 39. 2 Tim. 3 : 15, 16.) and attend on the word 
preached in order to obtain a spiritual understanding. 
Here you will have pointed out to you your true 
character, danger and remedy, with all their attendant 
qualities and consequences. 

" Be instant in j rayer. Not with any view to the 
virtue of the exercise, but with a due regard to the 
invaluable worth and indispensable demand of the 
blessing God may be pleased to afford in answer to it. * 
The nature of the case will suggest the propriety of 
self-denial, or the forsaking all known sins. But the 
alarmed conscience, newly roused from its security 
and negligence, cries out what shall I do ? The in- 
struction afforded in the case of Saul is in point, Acts 
9:6; compare 16 : 30, 31. Instruction is necessary 
to show our right in privileges and duties, lest we of- 
fend in the deeds we design should please. As to 
your baptism, the propriety of it depends on the na- 



92 



MEMOIRS OF 



ture and degree of your faith ; whenever it removes 
from your conscience the guilt of sin, by appropriat- 
ing the merits of Christ, by which the justice of God 
ceases to bar the mercy off, and gives you an evidence 
of interest in divine favor ; then, and not till then, it 
will be proper for you to give the outward sign. An 
examination of the scriptures, (a list of which you re- 
quest me to give,) on this subject will afford direction 
in the pathway of duty, and enable you by the blessing 
of God to act with propriety. Matt. 3 chap. Mark 
16 : 16. Acts 8 : 12, 37. Rom. 6 : 3, 4. Col. 2 : 11, 
12. Heb. 10 : 32, is thought to refer to baptism ; if so, 
it shows the proper time of the duty. 1 Pet. 3 : 21. 
with many other texts to the same effect, spread over 
the New Testament. 

" And now, my dear sir, the goodness of God in 
Christ Jesus is your only sovereign balm, and his 
spirit is the physician. And blessed be his adorable 
name ! he is free, infinitely free in his applications. 
I hope and pray, if ere this reaches you, you have 
not obtained a sense of his favor, you will soon be 
brought into the liberty of the sons of God, when the 
justice of God will, instead of barring you off, lead 
you to the love, mercy, and goodness of God, and be 
the principle of your safety and confidence. And be- 
lieve me, I am, as I have been and ever shall be, 

" Yours in the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

"Jesse Mercer." 

The following letter without date, but probably 
written about the same time with the preceding, was 
addressed to a female friend who was somewhat con- 
cerned upon the subject of religion, 



H Dear Madam — Some time since the few times I 
have seen you, I have suggested to myself that there 
was a seriousness on your countenance indicative of 
some inward anxiety, and it was most easy to me to 
suppose it to be about the state of your soul, and the 
concerns of eternity. I thought of writing to you, 
but this seemed rather bold. I therefore hesitated. 
I inquired of your friend Mrs. G., who said you were 
solicitous to know of religion and its attainment. 
On stepping in the other day on the very friendly in- 
vitation of Mr. S., and finding you somewhat indis- 
posed, and of a solemn though inviting countenance, 
I determined, and have set down, to address a few 
thoughts to you on the subject of the religion of 
Jesus, 

" Now, madam, of all the subjects in the world, this 
is doubtless the most important. Be it false, and we 
are without hope. Be it true, and it is the only hope. 
It is serious any how. This subject, as it is revealed in 
the scriptures, proceeds on the consideration of man's 
being totally lost and ruined in sin, i. e. that he is by 
nature under the law and curse of God, and so under 
the sentence of eternal destruction ; which is the case 
of not this and that wicked man [only,] but even of 
us all indiscriminately. That such is our state under 
the moral government of God, universal death and 
the terrors we feel on the approaches of eternity, will 
fully testify ; together with an almost endless variety 
of circumstances, the concomitants of living in this 
miserable world of sin, which will agree to no other 
state of things. But what shall we do to be saved ] 
is the question. 

" Why, madam, indeed if it were not for the gos- 



94 MEMOIRS OF 

pel of Jesus Christ, we should be at so profound a 
loss, as for ever to be unable to answer this question 
in any way satisfactory to a troubled mind, which, en- 
veloped in thick darkness, must have yielded to des- 
peration under its guilt, without a el earn of hope. 
But in the gospel, life and immortality break forth, as 
from the blackest night, in all the effulgence of noon- 
day glory. Here we see the Son of God clothed in 
our nature, the nature that sinned, for the express 
purpose of doing what we ought to have done, and 
what was indispensably necessary to be done in order 
to salvation. And now, through him is preached to 
us the forgiveness of sins, and by him, all that believe, 
are justified from all things which they could not by 
the law, which by sin had become the administration 
of death onlv. To believe this to the saving of the 
soul, is the fruit of the spirit of errace, bringing us to 
know God in his gloriot ; and Christ in his 

satisfaction (arising from the works of his life, and the 
sufferings of his death) so as to deliver the burdened 
conscience from eirilt and terror, restoring to us an 
inward peace with God, through our Lord Jesus 
Christ ; and giving a comfortable hope of acceptance 
into glory. This will at first excite deep, inward, and 
heart-breaking views of our sinfulness, in relation to 
God. and unworthiness of his mercy ; and bring us to 
acknowledge the justness of the divine conduct to- 
wards us in condemnation. It will next lead to de- 
sires or hungerings and thiretings for salvation, in 
some way which may be consistent with the law and 
justice of God. "When it is made known that this is 
all done in Christ, the soul then looks to him as the 
only true way to eternal life, with ardent desire, and 



JIfSSE MERCER. 95 

constant prayer to God for an interest in him, till it 
pleases God to aff®rd the poor soul the power of be- 
lieving, or trusting in, and receiving from Christ, a 
full discharge from his guilt and fears. Then he re- 
joices as a redeemed prisoner, loves God as his hea- 
venly Father, blesses Christ as his Redeemer, friend, 
and brother, has a strong affection for the saints, or 
such as appear to be real Christians, and is desirous 
above all things, to live in the favor, and according to 
the pleasure of God, till death ; and then hopes to be 
happy with him to all eternity. 

" How far, dear madam, you have realized these 
things, is a tender point between God and your own 
soul. Believe me, your soul is the most precious 
jewel you have in all your store, and its salvation the 
most important of all your concernments. I think 
you have [made], do, and will make, these topics your 
study and prayer, and will never give over till God 
give, by his Spirit, an inward evidence of your for- 
giveness, and acceptance through Jesus Christ. And 
I do, and if God will give the Spirit, will pray that 
you may, with your dear Mr. S., be successful, and 
obtain that salvation, which is made and provided of 
God in Christ for sinners lost and undone. Then 
you will be blessed here, and happy yonder for ever. 

" Pardon, dear madam, the liberty I take in ad- 
dressing this to you, and believe me, I am most cor- 
dially 

" Yours, in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

"Jesse Mercer." 



9G MEMOIRS OF 

TO MRS. T., OF VIRGINIA. 

" Pcwelton, July C, IS 19. 
41 My Dear Sister: — 

M I little thought, when I left you and dear Mr. T. 
in the road, that it would be almost two years before 
I should write to so interesting and distant friends ; 
but so it is. I have thought from time to time I 
would set about it, and give a long letter to my be- 
loved sister in the Lord ; but still have delayed, 
partly for want of heart-cheering matter, and partly 
for want of time and resolution to begin a letter. 

" Well, now I have begun ; but O what a heart of 
barrenness I have ! What shall I tell, what shall I 
write, to afford my sister any comfort, or to animate 
her afflicted and distressed soul ? Why, let me lead 
her views to the Rock that is higher than she — the 
Rock of ages — the precious, tried, and of course, sure 
foundation for a sinking sinner — the only shelter for 
one exposed to the flood of divine vengeance. But 
in this cleft the sinner, the chief of sinners, maybe 
safe and happy ; yea, when ' deluges of fiery wrath 
shall drown the world, he may, with a serene soul 
and dauntless courage, stand and see the last catas- 
trophe of the wicked. 'Tis a consolation to contem- 
plate, when all outward good is perishing under the 
common pressure, when flesh and heart are failing, 
and even time and nature dying, that there is an un- 
decaying substance, an unfailing fulness, and a trea- 
sure that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for 
those who love, and look for, the coming of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. I hope my sister is training up for 
glory by the successive afflictions she wades through. 



JESSE MERCER, 97 

* For I reckon that the sufferings of the present time 
are not worthy to be compared with the glory which 
shall be revealed in us.' Glory therefore in tribula- 
tions also. 

" Religion is in a low degree with us, but I trust 
there are a few names even amongst us, who shall be 
counted worthy to walk with the dear Emmanuel in 
white. I would indulge the hope of better times with 

yon. 

" Give wife's sweetest affections with mine to Mr. 
T., and other friends with whom we formed any ac- 
quaintance in Orange. And be assured of our most 
affectionate and pious wishes for yourself." 

The following extracts are from a letter to Rev. B, 
Manly, a short portion of which, on ministerial sup- 
port, appears on a preceding page : 

" Powellon, Nov. 13, 1825. 
44 My very Dear Brother : 

" I was quite pleased with the obtrusion of your 
4 poor thoughts' on me, which I found waiting for me 
in the office on my return home last. The time anti- 
cipated between us, when last together, of passing 
through Edgefield, was rather, I think, on my way up 
to the Saluda Association, than to the Convention : 
however, this was mostly on my mind, and I held it in 
contemplation till I was taken ill on a journey below 
Augusta, in June, when I despaired of my anticipated 
pleasure, and, as soon as I conveniently could, went 
up into Pendleton, where I might invigorate my 
health, and be ready to meet the Saluda Association. 
But in this I was disappointed also. Since that, my 



98 MEMOIRS OP 

health has been quite uneven, and lately, worse. I 
am at this moment the captive of affliction. At the 
Sarepta Association, I became feverish, and ever since 
I have been the subject of increasing fever till I came 
to this place, Friday was a week ago. On Saturday, 
at our monthly meeting, I could scarcely preach ; on 
Sabbath, I only served at the table. Monday, took 
an emetic, and have been, till now, in a state of poor 
convalescence, unable to get on the way of my ap- 
pointments ; and am therefore the Sabbath at home, 
not, I trust, committing the sin which is unto death, in 
answering my dear brother's kind and much esteemed 
letter ; the writing of which, I am satisfied, was so far 
from being ' the sin unto death/ that it was no sin at 
all. Through the continuance of disease, and the fre- 
quent returns of fever, I am admonished of being 
1 near the margin, and just ready to pass the flood.' 

" As to the opinion you have formed of my talents, 
I thank you for it ; but I assure you, it is to me, what 
you so much regret as ' a discouraging and very dis- 
astrous fact,' and therefore must be excused in yield- 
ing a very sparing promise to your l strong solicitude 
and desire.' I have, however, come to the determi- 
nation, should God lengthen the days of the years of 
my pilgrimage, to become stationary, and to devote 
my time to reading and study, perhaps some to writ- 
ing. But my talent for composition is so poor, that 
I have all along been kept back, and have done very 
little in that way. On some of the points you men- 
tion, I have had a desire to write at times ; but seeing 
the many volumes written on all, I have held a strong 
rein on it. 

" Your Convention may rely on a little aid from 



jesse Mercer. 99 

Georgia; and I fear it will be but little. The death 
of Mr. Gillison and Dr. Furman, I fear will have a 
very appalling effect on the designs of that body. 
But if you can feel truly that the Lord of Hosts is 
with you, you may go forward, for you will be ' well 
able/ I should be happy, could I say in truth some 
fine things about religion among us ; but I have no 
such news to send you. Some of my brethren in 
the new counties are baptizing goodly numbers, as I 
hear. I hope the Lord is affording you some joyful 
harvests in your fields of labor. Wife sends her 
christian affection to you and lady, which, with my 
own, you will receive in the same spirit, and pass 
mine over to your second self, and any of the dear 
brethren about Edgefield. — I have tired myself seve- 
ral times writing this letter ; I hope you will not faint 
in reading. Pray for a poor, old and declining man. 
Farewell.' ' 

It will be seen from what has passed under the 
reader's notice, with what care and conscientiousness 
Mr. Mercer ever kept in mind the duties of his voca* 
tion, and brought all his plans into proper subordina- 
tion to what he considered the great business of his 
life. It is much to be regretted, that occasionally, 
some of our venerable fathers in the gospel would 
become entangled in political affairs, and thus sus- 
tained much loss in their religious zeal and ministe- 
rial influence. Fortunately, through his long life, 
Mr. Mercer generally kept himself aloof from the 
strifes of party politics ; though he did not consider 
himself excluded by the obligations of his sacred of- 
fice, from the right of forming his own opinions of 
men and measures, and of expressing these opinions 
on proper occasions. 



100 MEMOIRS OF 

In 1798, he was a member of the convention which 
was appointed to amend the state constitution. His 
attendance in that body could not be condemned, as 
important, fundamental principles of government 
were to be settled, which would not only deeply af- 
fect the civil and political interests of the common- 
wealth, but misfit have a direct bearin <z on ecclesias- 
tical affairs. The best talent and influence of the 
state were needed to give a wise and happy direction 
to the deliberations of that important body. It was 
moved, during the session of the convention, by one 
of the members who, it seems was a lawyer, that 
ministers be ineligible to the office of legislator, and 
the motion was warmly urged by both lawyers and 
doctors. Mr. Mercer moved so to amend the resolu- 
tion, as that lawyers and doctors should be included. 
During an adjournment which ensued before the matter 
was adjusted, Mr. Mercer was visited by some of the 
members of the body, and urged to drop his amend- 
ment, as the projectors of the original motion had 
agreed to yield their ground. To this he assented. 

About 1816, he was a candidate for the office of 
senator in the state legislature, but very fortunately 
it may be concluded, he was unsuccessful. For this 
defeat he seemed ever afterwards grateful. " This 
defeat, or something else," remarks Mr. Sherwood, 
" convinced him that but few occasions should call 
down ministers from their elevated office to engage in 
legislation. He did not wish to see them deprived 
by enactments, of their rights ; yet thought only the 
most important crises should induce them to serve 
their country as political men. For a number of 
years he observed he had taken no part even in exer- 
cising the right of suffrage, for he said all parties had 



JESSE MERCER. 101 

aberrated so far from^the constitution, that he could 
not conscientiously vote for the candidates.' ' 

"A report went abroad in 1819, that he had drunk 
-for a toast the 9th verse of the 109th Psalm, ' Let his 
days be few ; and let another take his office, ' and ap- 
plied it to the governor. This gained credence, and 
actually soured the minds of many of his brethren ; 
# * * but he said he had never drunk a toast 
on any occasion" 

It was, perhaps, in 1833 that some of his friends 
entertained a serious intention of bringing him before 
the people as a candidate for governor; he was con- 
sulted on the subject, but would not listen to any 
such proposal. Some time subsequent to this, he 
was named in some of the public prints as a suitable 
person to be chosen as one of the presidential elec- 
tors ; he refused, however, to accept of the nomina- 
tion, and his name was withdrawn. 

In 1$33, a convention which had been previously 
summoned by the legislature, agreed upon certain 
amendments to the state constitution, and submitted 
the same to the people for their approval or rejection. 
Mr. Mercer regarded the occasion as one of peculiar 
importance, and in the exercise of what he regarded 
a sacred right, he published his reasons condemnatory 
of the proposed amendments. For this he was cen- 
sured with some degree of severity. This reproach 
he met with the following reply : " In reference to 
the constitutional question which was proposed to the 
people, (and to us as well as others,) for their appro- 
val or otherwise, we did assign our reasons for not 
ratifying the proposed amendments of the constitu- 
tion, and permitted them to be circulated; and for 
this we have been held up to public contempt. As it 
regards our single self, we care little for it ; but as an 



102 MEMOIRS OF 

effort to control the elective franchise, or to disturb 
the freedom of speech, we denounce it as highly un- 
republican and proscriptive. We do not at all ap- 
prove of ministers of the gospel tampering with the 
every-day politics of the country ; yet on constitu- 
tional questions, we regard it not only their right, 
but their indispensable duty, as public sentinels, to be 
on their watchtower, and guard every article, section, 
and sentence of that great and only palladium of our 
civil and religious privileges.'* 



CHAPTER VI. 

Death of Mrs. Mercer. — Mr. Mercer removes to Washington.— *A 
church constituted there. — His second marriage. — Editorial la- 
bors. — The degree of D» D. conferred on him. — Letters to vari- 
ous individuals. 

Mr. Mercer delayed his return from the General 
Convention in 1826, till the month of September. As 
he w T as passing through the upper part of South Caro- 
lina, his estimable and devoted wife was brought low 
by disease, and on the 23d of the above named month, 
was called home to her heavenly rest, at Anderson- 
ville, Pendleton district, in the fifty-fifth year of her 
age.* For nearly forty years, she had been the sharer 

* By his first wife, Mr. Mercer had two children. They were 
both daughters, and were both called Miriam. The first died in 
King and Queen county, Virginia, Sept. 21st, 1799, aged nine 
months and twenty-one days. The other died in Green county, 
Georgia, December 15th, 1814, aged nine years and eight months. 
u I was present," says his uncle, " several times during the illness 
of the second, and was also at the buiial. He evidently felt deeply, 
but did not shed a tear." 



JESSE MERCER. 103 

of his joys and sorrows ; and the stroke that termi- 
nated their long and happy union* was to the survi- 
vor, a most heavy affliction. But those abundant con- 
solations and supports, to which he, as an affectionate 
and faithful minister, had so often pointed the sor- 
rowful and bereaved, were present for his own relief 
in this the hour of his calamity — he calmly yielded, 
for the L ord, his best Friend, had done it. 

Subjoined is an extract from a letter to Dr. Lucius 
Bolles, of Salem, Mass., dated Powelton, October 4th, 
1826, in which there is an affecting allusion to the 
death of his wife, and other afflictions. 

" I must close by informing you of the melancholy 
manner in which I returned home. I seemed to my- 
self like a vessel which had been a long voyage, had 
met with rude winds and waves, but had rode them 
all till just coming into port, [when] a storm rose and 
carried her mainmast, ribboned her rigging, and 
caused her 2^ecious lading to be cast forth into the 
sea, and she comes to her moorings only with a shat- 
tered hull. Yes, brother, the influenza hung to me 
and rent me sore in the spring, and other things of a 
minor consideration made my journey unpleasant. 
But when I had gained the sight once more of the 
shore of Georgia, on the banks of the Tugulo river, 
the bilious fever set hard on Mrs. Mercer, and on the 
eighth day, say 23d of September, she fell in death. 
But joyful in hope, she never yielded to fear. I was 
taken on the day of her interment, and have returned 
home, contending with the fever ; but I have gotten 
the victory. I am able to sit up and write through 
mercy. Sickness prevails to an alarming degree, even 
in the more healthy parts. I hope the Lord will be 
with you and bless you. Love to Si-ter B. and the 
brethren. Farewell in the Lord," 



10 4 EOIRS ok 

In the following letter to a Christian sister, there is 
also some reference to the death of Mrs. Mercer : 

"Sister L \Jarn. 14, 1827. 

"Ml VERY DEAR SlSTEB IN THE LORD : — 

M With much pleasure I received y -ter- 

day, by Brother Green. My feelings were grieved at 

our last meeting, because it was so slight. 1 was busy 
when you came up, and while I was talking to several 
about me. lo, you were gone ! I looked for you, hut 
found you not. I know not when I shall see you. I, 
with you, would mourn over the sad state of Zion. I 
think really we are generally in a sad state of decline. 
How all is precisely at Couiityline, I know not, but 
fear all has not been right at any time since the times 
of trouble on account of Thorny.* Truly we may 
adopt the petition of the Syrophenician woman, for 
all our help is in the Lord — in the Lord alone. AVhen 
I can come to Countyline I know not ; and fear now 
to come, for I am of rhe in. . from what took 

place at Phillips', sundry would not be pleased in my 
company. This I a But this maybe 

a false impression. I fe rethren are not of a 

good spirit ; but the Lord can remove all evils, both 
outward and inward. Let us seek unto the Lord, and 
unto the Lord commit our cause. 

" I am now poor and needy, the Lord having deso- 
lated me in a melancholy widowhood. I hope to 
share in the prayers of my brethren, that I may live 
the remnant of my days in a manner suited to pro- 
mote the good of our Jerusalem, and His glory whom 
I hope I serve, and whose I trust I am. I would be 
glad to write you a full history of my dear departed 

* Thorr.is Rhodes. 



JESSE MERCER. 105 

wife's last exercises. Truly the Lord had mercy on 
her, and not on her only, but on me also. I have 
great reason to be thankful that she was enabled to 
triumph over death with all his terrors. She sunk in 
calm repose without a struggle or a groan. Truly, 
she never yielded to fear. She was very much racked 
with pain in her affliction, and I feared she would 
have a hard struggle in death ; but she had a soothed 
'passage, and left a smoothed countenance, rather 
lovely in death than otherwise. She wished to be 
remembered to all her friends in Georgia, and though 
she was cut off from the expected pleasure of seeing 
them in this life, she [said that she] would soon meet 
them in a better world, where she would more enjoy 
them than she could here. She had the songs sung, 
" Jerusalem, my happy home/' and " How nappy's 
every child of grace;" and wished, when she knew 
herself dying, " The Consolation in Affliction" to be 
sung, but no one could sing it to her. I read it to 
her ; she seemed to make it all her own. It is, " In 
the floods of Tribulation." You may see all these in 
the Cluster, and read them, and remember her that 
was dear unto you, and by whom your affection was 
reciprocated. Remember me to Mr. C. I long for 
his salvation. If any brethren in Countylinc would 
be glad to hear from me, in your opinion, mention to 
them my poor name, and request their prayers to God 
for me. Let me ever chare in your effusions before 
the throne in secret." 

From a remark in his letter to Mr. Manly, which 
the reader has already noticed in the preceding chap- 
ter, it would seem that Mr. Mercer was beginning to 
reflect seriously upon the propriety of confining his 
labors to a more circumscribed sphere. Being now 

6 



106 MEMOIRS OF 

about fifty-seven years old, it was to be expected that 
he would begin to feel the approaching infirmities of 
age, especially as his natural force had much abated 
under the influence of disease. The arduous labors 
which he had so long encountered, and most of the 
time without injury, were now too much for his de- 
clining strength ; and he found an additional motive 
for giving up his itinerant mode of living, in the de- 
sire he had to increase, by reading and study, his store 
of scriptural knowledge. 

It was at the close of 1826, or very early in 1827, 
that Mr. Mercer took up his residence in Washington, 
Wilkes county. The circumstances under which he 
determined to settle at this place, were such as af- 
forded a very striking illustration of his disinterested- 
ness, and his conscientious adherence to his convic- 
tions of duty. When his purpose was fully matured 
to give up most of his churches, and provide for him- 
self a more settled residence, the Powelton brethren, 
to whom he was most ardently attached, and by whom 
his affection was fully reciprocated, appointed a com- 
mittee to wait on him for the purpose, if possible, to 
secure his permanent settlement with them. They 
were fully authorized to say to him, that if he would 
yield to their wishes in this respect, his temporal sup- 
port should be provided for. It would seem that 
comfort, interest, and his strong personal attachments, 
would have dictated a ready compliance. In Wash- 
ington, there was, as yet, no Baptist Church in exist- 
ence ; his ministerial services had been less appre- 
ciated in that community than in any place where he 
had ever labored, and no inducement was offered in 
relation to pecuniary support. And yet the impres- 
sion was deeply riveted on his mind, that there the 



JESSE MERCER. 107 

Lord would have him take up his abode. The ques- 
tion of duty being settled in his mind, nothing re- 
mained for him but a ready and cheerful compliance. 

For nearly forty years previous to Mr. Mercer's 
settlement in Washington, he had. been in the habit 
of preaching in that place, generally on week days, 
about once a month. The house usually occupied 
for divine service, was an old brick academy, which 
stood near the dwelling where Mr. Mercer resided 
after his second marriage. There were a few scat- 
tering Baptists in the village and the immediate vi- 
cinity, yet not enough to justify the organization of a 
church until 1827. In March of this year, a branch 
of the Phillips' Mill Church was established at Wash- 
ington; a commodious house of worship was so far 
completed by April, as to accommodate the meeting 
of the Baptist State Convention; and on the 29th of 
December following, a church was constituted, con- 
sisting of ten members. James Armstrong, B. M. 
Sanders, $. L. Brooks, (with some other ministers,) 
were the officiating Presbytery. On the 20th of Jan- 
uary, 1828, Mr. Mercer was called to the pastoral 
charge of this infant church. This call was accepted, 
and he continued its faithful and much beloved pastor 
until death. 

Under the ministry of Mr. Mercer, this church 
gradually increased in numbers, zeal and efficiency. 
In 1832, it numbered forty-nine members ; in 1835, 
sixty-three ; in 1840, the year previous to Mr. Mer* 
cer's death, eighty-seven. In active benevolence, this 
little band, during the lifetime of Mr. Mercer, pre- 
sented an example which has seldom been surpassed 
by any church in the denomination. In 1835, the 
church, (assisted by some of the liberal members of 



106 MEMOIRS OF 

the congregation,) sent up to the Georgia Association, 
for various benevolent purposes, the sum of six hun- 
dred dollars ; and for five successive years, their an- 
nual contributions were of the most liberal character. 
It must be remembered, that these amounts were 
principally gathered from a small number of con- 
tributors. A portion of the church were colored 
members, who had but little, if any thing, to give ; 
and of the white members, there were not many 
whose circumstances would justify very ample dona- 
tions. 

Mr. Mercer's general method at Washington for 
raising money was this : he prepared a subscription 
paper and put it in his pocket. As he passed about 
amongst the members of his church and congregation, 
he presented it personally to such as he judged pro- 
per persons to be applied to, allowing each one that 
subscribed to designate the particular benevolent ob- 
ject to which he wished his money to be appropriated. 
At a suitable time the individuals were again called 
on for the payment of the amounts thus pledged. 
Some such plan as this, Mr. Mercer greatly preferred 
to the precarious method, mainly relied on by many 
of the churches, of having an occasional missionary 
discourse, and then two or three old hats passed rap- 
idly through the congregation to receive the little, 
scanty change, which might happen accidentally to be 
in their pockets. Many persons, that might satisfy 
their consciences by throwing twenty-five, or fifty 
cents, into the deacon's hat, when personally ap- 
proached with a subscription paper, would put down 
from five to twenty dollars. 

On the 11th of December, 1827, Mr. Mercer was 
united in marriage to Mrs. Nancy Simons, widow of 



JESSE MERCER. 109 

Captain A. Simons, deceased, and then residing in 
Washington. His last marriage brought a considera- 
ble increase to his worldly possessions, and that he 
might not be needlessly encumbered by secular cares, 
most of this property was sold, and the proceeds 
thrown into such investments, as would yield him a 
reasonable income, with the ]east possible inconve- 
nience and anxiety to himself. 

Mr. Mercer considered himself truly fortunate in 
his last marriage. His second companion was no less 
devoted to his wishes and happiness than the first; 
possessing a spirit of unbounded liberality, she enter- 
ed heartily into all his benevolent plans for the ad- 
vancement of the Redeemer's kingdom, and was 
entirely willing that the avails of her large estate 
should be consecrated to pious purposes. How plea- 
sant are such instances of conjugal unanimity in the 
blessed work of doing good. A more extended notice 
of Mrs. Mercer will be found in a subsequent part of 
this volume. 

After Mr. Mercer's removal to Washington, he 
found himself placed in circumstances, in many re- 
spects, suited to his declining years ; yet he did not 
feel at liberty to sit down in slothful inactivity, and 
be satisfied with any effort in behalf of the cause of 
Christ, less than what his health and strength would 
justify. Besides supplying the church at Phillips' 
Mill once a month, and the one at Washington the 
rest of the time, he continued to attend the anniver- 
saries of the most important bodies of the denomina- 
tion, and many occasional religious meetings in va- 
rious regions ; preaching as he had been wont to do 
on the way from place to place, and wherever he 
went, cheering his brethren by his Sweet and heavenly 



11© MEMOIRS OF 

deportment, and imparting to them in the pulpit, and 
in their public deliberations, and in the social circle, 
the fruits of his matured wisdom. 

His pen was now employed in keeping up a more 
regular correspondence with his brethren on matters 
pertaining to the interests of Zion, and in the occa- 
sional preparation for the press of essays on important 
subjects. 

In 1833, the Christian Index, which had been edited 
for several years by the Rev. W. T. Brantly, at Phil- 
adelphia, with the approval of the Baptist Board of 
Foreign Missions, under whose auspices the paper 
was first commenced at Washington City, and the de- 
sire of many brethren, was transferred to Mr. Mercer. 
This necessarily brought him into a new sphere of 
effort, and imposed on him much anxiety, labor, and 
responsibility. The purchase of an office, of a new 
press and suitable type, subjected him to the expense 
of between two and three thousand dollars ; and from 
year to year the partial and tardy returns from his 
subscribers compelled him to sustain a considerable 
pecuniary loss. 

The duties of an Editor were not very congenial 
with Mr. Mercer's taste and feelings : had he been 
more thoroughly drilled in the art of composing, and 
his previous habits been more decidedly literal*}', his 
task would have been less irksome ; still, though la- 
boring under some disadvantages, he was enabled to 
render his paper the vehicle of much useful, solid, re- 
ligious instruction. The burden of Lis editorial cares 
was much lightened by the assistance of the Rev. W. 
H. Stokes, who for several years was associated with 
him as an assistant Editor. 

His name and character gave much weigh t to his 



JESSE MERCER. Ill 

editorial communications, and they generally contain- 
ed much important thought, plainly, though often for- 
cibly expressed. His reputation as a wise counsellor, 
able divine, and skilful expounder of the discipline of 
the church, brought to him from his numerous friends 
and correspondents, many queries upon a great va- 
riety of subjects pertaining to doctrine, duty, church, 
and associational affairs. These he generally answer- 
ed in a sensible, judicious, and scriptural manner, and 
much to the satisfaction of candid, reflecting minds. 
Through the columns of his paper, the benevolent op- 
erations of the day were constantly urged and defend- 
ed, and in meeting the various objections that have 
been urged from time to time against them, Mr. Mer- 
cer displayed a readiness, skill, and originality, that 
have seldom been surpassed. 

For some time after the removal of the paper to 
Washington, its pages contained much controversial 
matter that was considered objectionable, particularly 
by the more distant subscribers ; yet the peculiar con- 
dition of many of the churches and associations in the 
state rendered this almost unavoidable. Many im- 
portant and vital questions arose, that it was import- 
ant to have settled upon scriptural ground ; discussion 
seemed absolutely necessary ; and though there was 
often mingled with it a degree of severity and bitter- 
ness that could not be justified, yet in the result it was 
evident, that much light had been thrown upon subjects 
which had before been too imperfectly understood ; 
and that many of the churches were settling down 
in a quiet, stable manner, upon more scriptural prin- 
ciples. In another chapter of this work, we shall have 
occasion to refer more particularly to this subject. 

The occasion for these unpleasant controversies 



112 MEMOIRS OF 

having in a good degree passed away, the pages of 
the paper assumed a more peaceful and inviting as- 
pect, and yielded a larger space to important religious 
intelligence, and the discussion of such subjects as 
possessed more general interest. 

In 1840, the Christian Index, with the press and all 
its appendages, was generously tendered by the pro- 
prietor to the Baptist State Convention : the liberal 
donation was accepted, and at the close of the year the 
paper was removed to Penfield, w^here it has since 
been published under the general supervision of the 
Executive Committee. 

In 1835, the degree of D. D. was conferred on Mr. 
Mercer by the Board of Fellows of Brown University. 
The cordiality with which this honor was conferred, 
may be learned from a short extract from a letter from 
the Rev. Lucius Bolles to Mr. Mercer. "In relation 
to the Degree, I hope it may not be unpleasant. It 
has been in contemplation for two or three years as 
what ought to be done, provided the thing is proper 
in any case, and I assure you it was conferred with 
great cordiality ; and for myself I can say, never with 
more pleasure/' The sentiments of Mr. Mercer on 
the occasion, may be learned from an extract from a 
letter to Mr. Bolles, dated Sept. 24th, 1835 ; and from 
his letter to President Wayland, which immediately 
follows. " Another matter has turned up and given 
me some perplexity. The late act of the Fellows of 
Brown University, in conferring the degree of Doctor 
of Divinity unanimously on me, has astounded me. 
To receive the meritless [unmerited] honor, seems 
hardly just to myself and the cause ; to refuse it is to 
hold in contempt the kind expression of the sense 
which my brethren of high standing entertain of my 



JESSE Mercer. 113 

character and s&rvices. I am at a loss to determine. 
If I were in the vigor of life, I should surely refuse 
it ; but as I am nearly worn out any how, it may be 
best to let it 



TO PRESIDENT WAYLAND* 

" Washington, Sept. 25, 1835. 
i% Uev. and Dear Sir 

" I have the honor of acknowledging the receipt 
of yours of the 9th hist., informing me, \ that at the 
late meeting of the Board of Fellows of Brown Uni- 
versity, the Degree of Doctor of Divinity was unani- 
mously conferred upon me by that authority ; and that 
the act was duly announced on Commencement day/ 
and that the same was addressed to me by you, ' in 
the hope that this testimonial of your (the Board's) 
respect for my character and services would be ac- 
ceptable.* 

" Now, my dear Sir, permit me, through you, to 
say to the Board of Fellows of Brown University, that, 
so far as it respects themselves, and all whose feel- 
ings, on this subject, may be in unison with theirs, for 
this testimonial of respect for my character and ser- 
vices, from so high an authority, I am grateful, and 
do accept it with all readiness of mind ; but so far as 
it relates to myself, and the unknowing and unthink- 
ing multitude, I must beg leave to be excused the 
acceptance of a meed of praise so rich, of which I feel 
myself entirely undeserving, and altogether unable to 
sustain. ,, 

The title of Dr. was seldom given to Mr. Mercer, 
except by his brethren at a distance. His intimate 
brethren at home had a kind of instinctive feeling, 

6* 



114 MEMOIRS OF 

that the title did not accord with the simplicity of his 
character ; and they also felt, that the relation between 
Mr. Mercer and themselves was too sacred, tender, 
and endearing, to allow the use of such a formal and 
stately epithet. Father, and Brother, were the only 
terms which suited their ears and their hearts, when 
addressing this eminent servant of Christ. 

Some extracts from Mr. Mercer's correspondence 
will conclude this chapter. 

TO MRS. c. 

/• Wcukh rt. 3G7A, 1829. 

M Dear Sister C. 

" Your kind letter of the 2?th came to us this 

morning : we were glad to hear from you, though the 

contents were melancholy. "We sympathize with you 

and Mr. C. in the affliction occasioned by the deaths 

of dear friends "and relations. Affliction and death 

have surrounded us also. 

# * # * 

" We hope you may be able to be at the Associa- 
tion, where we may meet once more. The hymn 
you mention is eood. A similar one has often oc- 
curred to my mind in troubles ; to wit : 

I is our refuge in distress, 
A ready help when clangers press,' I 

u It is, my dear sister, a comfortable thought that 
our refuge is God, and everywhere. May the Lord 
sustain you in all your afflictions, and prepare dear 
Mr. C. for whatever a gracious God has in view for 
him." 



JESSE MERCER. 115 

TO THE SAME. 

" Washington, Feb. 2Ut, 1830. 
44 Dear Sister C. 

" We have received your letters, recounting your 
and the protracted afflictions of Mr. C. The Lord 
does not afflict the sons of men nor grieve them in 
vain. Faith says, i 'tis all for the best ;' and scripture 
says, ' we know that all things work together for good 
to them that love God, to them who are the called 
according to his purpose.' If, however, you vn. weak- 
ness cannot see how all these trials and miseries can 
be for good, only be patient, and you shall in a little 
while know all about it. This is to you a time a lit- 
tle like that spoken of in Zechariah 14th chap. 6th 
and 7th verses : " And it shall come to pass in that 
day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark ; but it 
shall be one day, which shall be known to the Lord, 
not day, nor night ; but it shall come to pass that at 
evening time it shall be light? Also read Isa. 50th 
chap, and 10th verse, which encourages to trust in 

the Lord at all times. 

* # # # 

" Tell dear Mr. C. that ' to all the living there is 
hope/ and to call on the Lord while he may be found, 
and possibly is near ; that now is the accepted time 
with him, and only possible day of salvation." 

TO THE SAME. 

" Washington, April 26lh, 1830. 
44 Dear Sister C. 

" Your letter, bearing the melancholy intelligence 
of the departure of your dear husband, was duly 



116 memoirs or 

brought us by la^t mail. The departure vi an im 
mortal spirit is always an occurrence of deep con* 
cern : but when it happens in any of our dear inti- 
mates and close connexions, it is more so ; especially 
when our happiness in . bound up in 

their life -rill more solemn and interesting and 

heart-rending, when we cast a lonsring anxious look 
on their everlasting flight, and can't see one raj 
certain, heavenly light on their j O, how we 

ice to hear some good word to settle our 
fears, and give us hope in their final and everlasting 

u 1i your unhappine— tc reflect on a 

life of many variations and serious changes : — a long 
and painful illne have ended without sav- 

ing yon one solid reason [on which] to rest your dis- 
te spirit. TTell then, sister Dorothy, there is 
vet one i fbg€ : weary soul — resignation to 

the will of your heavenly Father. He is in the hand 
of Him who is f all the earth, and will do 

:h all his crearu: and I hope 

vou will have grace.) to say with David, * I was dumb 
with and opened not my mouth, because thou 

it. 1 There are many comfortable scrip- 
fty, :. r, to the rest 

s srive, and trust in the Lord, and 
i shall never be confounded, world without end.'* 

j'ort. May 3d, 1830. 
11 DXAI SlSTXEj 

M Yoma 

Tied from meeting. We truly condole with 
you in your solit- u!d do" you good if 



JESSE MEBCEft* 117 

in our power. But all we can do, is to advise you as 
Eliphaz did Job, to seek unto God, and unto him to 
commit your cause ; because he doeth great things 
and unsearchable ; marvellous things without number. 
You have suffered much, but not so much as many. 
You have many good and gracious friends, whilst 
many are friendless, as well as propertyless. You 
know the way, and you must walk in it, and you will 
find peace to your soul. 



" You say you have no bridle nor saddle — all 
burnt ! well, you must have them, in order to go 
about to see your friends, and to meetings. I advise 
you to buy some, and trust for the means to pay. I 
hope and pray you may be guided into the right way 
by your heavenly Father, who is the widow's God/' 



TO THE SAME. 

"jdnty 9, 1832. 
"As to religious feeling among us, I can give you 
but a bad account. It seems that the winter has fro- 
zen every thing like pious or zealous feeling in all 
parties. I am somewhat chagrined at the seasonable 
appearance which the late revivals have taken, to 
spring up in the hot weather and decline with it, and 
die in winter. I want a revival which will live all 
winter.' ' 

The following letter is addressed to the same indi- 
vidual as Sister S., her name having been previously 
changed by a second marriage : 



113 MEMOIRS OF 

" December 26, 1832 
44 Dear Sister S. 

" Your letter of 9th inst. was duly received, and 
read with interest. After detailing your woes, you 
ask whether we have such feelings. 'Tis but too true 
a picture you give of our exercises. Read in the 
Cluster, page 338 Newton's, and also on the next 
page ; and our own on page 340. But these should 
not discourage us. We are taught in the Bible, that 
we must w T alk by faith, and not by sight. It is God's 
design, that we shall trust him for his grace. Paul 
was taught this lesson by a severe discipline, and 
which God only remedied by a simple declaration, 
* My grace is sufficient for thee.' We must learn to 
walk through darkness and not fear. It is God-hon- 
oring to trust and not be afraid. But yet how weak 
are we to trust even the ■ oath and promise' of our 
heavenly Father, who is, and ever will be, faithfulness 
itself. We too often look for some good qualities in 
ourselves, instead of looking at his faithfulness and 
unchanoinof love. We sometimes are too much at 
ease in the possession of earthly blessings, and the 
Lord, as a correction, leaves us awhile to their enjoy- 
ment, to let us know their little worth, without better 
blessings, even his Spirit and grace to sanctify, and 
make them the means of our being more useful in the 
use of them." 

TO THE REV. LUCIUS BOLLES, BOSTON. 

" Washington, Dec. 26, 1832. 
***** 

" I rejoice in the abundant success the Lord has 
given his servants, both to the east and west. There 



JESSE MERCER. 119 

were in the Saluda Association, S. C, within the asso- 
ciational year (ending August) with only twenty 
churches, baptized about one thousand three hundred, 
and in six new churches added about two hundred ; 
in all, one thousand five hundred. And you have seen 
in the Index, about one thousand seven hundred in 
the Edgefield. In our state there is not much ex- 
citement in religious affairs. I hope the hands of the 
Board of Foreign Missions are strengthened day by 
day. You have seen we too are trying to do some- 
thing. Our manual labor school is rising, and will go 
into operation on the second Monday in next month. 
The prospect is fair — applications overflowing. But 
in the project and furtherance of this scheme, I have 
no great share of praise ; for I have rather opposed 
and hung back, because I wished to see other and 
previous great objects further advanced and more 
firmly fixed on terra firma. But I could not hold back 
the zeal which has eaten up our brethren, to be doing 
something at home. It has had its effect. I am con- 
strained to go with my brethren, and work with them, 
and have my hands full and a place for all my surplus 
funds. Of course, I cannot do abroad what might 
have been looked for. I cannot accept a project from 
Burmah in favor of a Palestine mission. I must, and 
will try, while God permits me life, to keep our Board 
of Foreign Missions, in their enlarged operations, on 
their feet. This, and the Columbian College, and our 
own school affairs, are too weighty for me. 

" Our political matters are truly alarming. Inter- 
est, local interest, is likely to ruin us. True, I think 
the burdens of the government are unequally distrib- 
uted by the tariff laws, but the south complains too 
much, perhaps. Will it be better for manufacturers 



120 MEMOIR* 0* 

to be thrown on their own capital and risk their indi- 
vidual success, rather than to dissolve the Union 1 
But our true consolation is, the Lord reigneth. 

u God has bereaved you indeed in the death of our 
valuable brother, E. Lincoln. But He who gave, 
and trained him for usefulness, can fill the place He 
has vacated. 

11 Give my most fervent love to all the dear breth- 
ren) and believe me to be, dear brother, 
11 Yours in Christ our Lord, 

''Jesse Mercer. *' 

The following was written to Mrs. S. shortly after 
the death of her second husband : 

M Washington, June ~2, 1333. 
11 My Dear Sister S. 

''• Your letter intended for me at Crawfordville, 
the night I had an appointment there, but was hin- 
dered by high waters, was handed me at Phillips' by 
Brother Davant. I was on my way to our Conven- 
tion, when I was first informed of the distressing ter- 
mination of Mr. S.'s dangerous illness, of which you 
informed us about two weeks before. I had hoped 
better, but the will of our merciful and heavenly Fa- 
ther had determined otherwise. I hope and pray tlie 
God of all grace, in whom you trust, will grant you 
faith and patience to endure as beholding him who is 
invisible. ' All things work together for good to them 
who love God.' In this you are fully persuaded, and 
on this, and such-like promises, you will cast your 
whole burden. We are, dear sister, by these disjDen- 
sations of bereavement, taught the vanity of all our 
best earthly enjoyments, and led to have our hearts 



JESSE MERCER. 121 

set on a better, and a more enduring substance. The 
Lord's ways are not our ways ; but it is our happi- 
ness to make his ways ours, and to be resigned to 
them. It should be our daily prayer, that he would 
lead us into the way which he has chosen we should 
go ; and that we might walk willingly therein, and 
find rest to our souls : yea, and we should find peace 
and comfort to our souls, if we did but walk aright in 
his paths. Let your mind be stayed on Him : He 
who has provided hitherto will still provide. " 

The following letter was addressed to a female 
friend through the columns of the Index. 

"My Dear Sister in the Lord, 

" Your interesting letter was duly received, and 
has laid by for some time, in order that I might be 
able to give you a more satisfactory answer ; and I 
have taken this method of reply, that if I might be so 
happy as to afford you any relief, in the subjects of 
your inquiry, I might also help others, in the same 
perplexities. I regret that you should have had any 
hesitance in presenting your distress of mind to me, 
especially under ideas of disparity between us. None 
should be too humble to express their complaints, and 
none too great to listen to them with an attentive ear, 
in order to afford any possible relief. By communi- 
cating our perplexities freely to our friends, they may 
be readily obviated, and our minds relieved. Your 
present distress is, that your sentiment, in reference 
to the plan of salvation, is so unlike to those of some 
of your brethren, that you fear lest you may be in er- 
ror. You, therefore, desire to make them known to 
me, that if, in my judgment, they are erroneous, or 



122 MEMOIRS OF 

defective, I may correct them, and give you the in- 
struction you need. You make the following state- 
ment of your sentiments : ' I believe that by the fall 
of Adam, his whole posterity became alienated from 
God ; that they are totally depraved ; that they are as 
destitute of spiritual life, as the body will be of tem- 
poral life, when consigned to the grave, until the Holy 
Spirit operates on the heart ; that when this work is 
commenced, it will eventually be completed ; that the 
salvation of every believer is the purchase of Christ's 
blood ; that He is their Redeemer, and their atoning 
sacrifice; that in Him the justice of God is satisfied 
in their stead ; and that this salvation is immutable. ' 
These particulars are doubtless essentially true, ac- 
cording to the scriptures. That all men are dead in 
sins from Adam, is clearly sustained from Rom. 5 : 
12. * By one man sin entered into the world, and 
death by sin ; and so death passed upon all men, for 
that all have sinned? That all are totally depraved, 
is proven by the testimony of God himself. Gen. 
6:5. ' And God saw that the wickedness of man 
was great in the earth, and that every imagination of 
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually? 
See also Ps. 14 : and Rom. 3 : 10-18. That men are 
entirely destitute of spiritual life, is evident from Eph. 
2 : 1, 5. 'Dead in sins/ is the contrast of that life, 
by which believers are ' quickened ;' or it is that state, 
in which they are before faith, as expressed in verse 
12, * Without God;' and so without any spiritual 
life. This connexion proves very clearly, that the 
state of wrath continues until the quickening influ- 
ences of the spirit of life in Christ are felt on the 
heart. Regeneration is found in the renewing of the 
Holy Ghost ; and Christ says it is the spirit that 



JESSE MERCER. 123 

quickeneth. That when this work is commenced, it 
will eventually be completed, is as evident, as Paul's 
confidence is true. Phil. 1:6. * Being confident of 
this very thing, that he who hath begun a good work 
in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.' 
That the salvation of every believer is the purchase 
of Christ's blood ; or rather, that it is the free gift of 
God, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 
as their Redeemer and atoning sacrifice, in whom God 
is well pleased, is, I presume, denied by none ; and 
that their salvation is immutable, is certain, because it 
is eternal , Heb. 5 : 9, and results from an * unchange- 
able Priesthood.' 7 : 24. 

" The irrefragable certainty in the salvation of all 
God's people, which your mind holds, from this state 
of things, with a pleasing tenacity, seems to you, to 
be untenable with the sentiments of some, who sus- 
pend the salvation of sinners under the gospel, on 
their free volitions, or voluntary choice. In conver- 
sation with some of your brethren, you have been re- 
ferred to Rev. Mr. Brantley's third Sermon. On read- 
ing of which you say, ' I must confess, I there find 
sentiments which, to me, appear as if the salvation of 
sinners depended on the use of means, placed within 
their power.' Taking parts of this discourse, sepa- 
rate and apart from the rest, such would seem to be 
their import ; but taking it as a whole, I conceive 
from a careful reading, that the reverse is estab- 
lished. The main object of Brother B. is to do away 
from the minds of his readers, the notion that God 
save smen by coercion ; and to establish the sentiment 
that sinners are saved with their own free consent or 
voluntary choice. The truth of this position must 
strike your mind at once, by considering the absurdity 



124 MEMOIRS OF 

of the contrary opinion, carried out. Suppose a sin- 
ner coerced to be saved, as a culprit is coerced to 
court; and can he be happy, or glorify God for his 
salvation ] Certainly not : so then he cannot be saved 
by coercion. Although Brother B. contends most 
strenuously against the opinion that God saves sinners 
by ' coercive necessity/ yet he does not hold that the 
salvation of God's chosen people, is at all the less cer- 
tain. His words are : * The power which grace ex- 
erts is the power of persuasion, of illumination, or of 
attraction. The energy which accompanies it, is far 
from the asperities of constraint ; the efficiency which 
it possesses, though approaching towards compulsion, 
yet stops short of it.' And why % Because salvation 
by mere force would defeat God's gracious purpose 
and promise to the Redeemer, ' Thy people shall be 
willing in the day of thy power/ Our brother con- 
tinues, i It calls the soul effectually, moves it by ra- 
tional inducement, rouses it from the sleepy torpor of 
unbelief, and informs it by the teachings of the Holy 
Spirit ; but in all this there is nothing that impairs the 
freedom of choice, or of action.' But I will add, ex- 
cites and improves it in both. Again, Brother B. 
states, ' The mind is perfectly free in believing, for 
though the evidence may be so strong as to make un- 
belief impracticable, yet belief itself is a spontaneous 
movement.' Brother B., in maintaining ' that salva- 
tion is so propounded to all men, as to make its ac- 
ceptance or rejection a possible thing,' states that 
f what I am now insisting upon is in full view of the 
fact, that some are converted and some are not ; some 
regenerated and some not; some are true penitents 
and others never feel one genuine emotion of the sort ; 
some love God and bear the- impress of sanctity, while 



JESSE MERCER. • 125 

others remain under the dominion of unbelief and 
hardness of heart ; and all this diversity is witnessed 
under the same administration of visible means/ And 
how does Brother B. account for all this ] Why, says 
he, ' The Holy Spirit does exert a greater influence 
upon some minds than upon others within the pale of 
the same visible administrations of means ; and that 
this greater influence must account for the conversion 
of some, while others remain unconverted, is what I 
fully believe. That salvation too is wholly of the 
^grace of God, and that it is God that worketh in us 
both to will and to do, is a position to which my mind 
fully accords/ He also declares that ' God's free and 
sovereign grace in the redemption of sinners, and in 
all the influences by which that redemption is ap- 
plied and rendered effectual, is most clear and unde- 
niable/ 

" These quotations sufficiently show that Brother B. 
holds the salvation of sinners to be the effect of the 
special and effectual operations of the Holy Spirit- 
by free grace alone ; yet he does not think that any 
are put under i a coercive necessity' to be saved. 
And you, yourself, admit that sinners, under the 
quickening and illuminating influences of God's Spi- 
rit, 'need no other coercive necessity to impel them to 
use the means ; for the salvation of their souls has 
now become the all-conquering principle : Therefore, 
it cannot be said that they ' yield to the necessity of 
being saved, just as they yield to the necessity of dy- 
ing.' Thus you agree with Brother B. when he says, 
that ' spiritual influences are carried on almost to 
compulsion, but stop short of it,' because a conquest 
is gained — the sinner yields, and is saved. 

" It should always be kept in mind, that the dia- 



126 MEMOIRS OF 

pensations of God embrace two departments ; the one 
including things as they lie with himself, or between 
himself and Christ. To this department belong all 
the purposes and promises of mercy, which are all 
absolute and infrustrable ; and rest for their accom- 
plishment on the free and sovereign grace of a faith- 
ful and covenant God. The other embraces things 
as they lie between God and his rational creatures, 
and is founded on the rights and authority of God 
over them, and their duties and obligations to him as 
their Creator. Here God has an indisputed authority 
to command, and (if he graciously please) to invite, 
beseech and entreat; and doubtless it is their duty to 
obey and yield a cordial compliance with the divine 
and all gracious proposals ; and it must be their con- 
demnation if they refuse. But let it be remembered 
that this done saves no man ; for God saves men only 
through faith in Christ 1 s blood. But if God has been 
pleased to place the evidences of his grace in a righ- 
teous obedience to his commands, is it safe to seek 
them elsewhere 1 I think not. It is true all men re- 
sist the claims and refuse the grace of the dispensation 
of calls and means, and will not comply. It is, there- 
fore, that God puts forth a mightier energy of divine 
influence into these means and invitations, by which 
they are rendered effectual, by ' the persuasion, illu- 
mination or attractions of the Holy Spirit,' to salva- 
tion. So, then, it comes to pass that all who are 
saved, are saved by the free and unmerited grace of 
God ; while they that perish, sink under the w r eight 
of their own unbelieving refusals of the just claims of 
God over them. 

" According to the covenant stipulation, * all things 
were finished from the foundation of the world ;' and 



JESSE MERCER. 127 

all given to the Son, as the reward of his sufferings, 
were complete in him — were fully justified and par- 
doned in the sight of God, while as yet there was none 
of them. But according to the dispensation of his 
grace, there are times and seasons, which the Father 
has reserved under his own power. In these we sin, 
repent, and are forgiven. And again, sin, repent, and 
are forgiven, &c. — Thus we must be careful, not to 
confound the things which belong to the times and 
seasons of God's dispensation to men, with the pur- 
poses and things which were ordered and sure in his 
everlasting covenant. 

" You hear it said, * The atonement was made for 
all mankind ; but the application definite, or how 
could the offer of salvation be held forth in the gos- 
pel to all, if the atonement was not made for all.' 
This you think inconsistent with the value of the pre- 
cious blood of Christ, and the nature of the relation 
it holds in the covenant of redemption. They who 
hold this language, confound the atonement with the 
rights and authority of God over mankind, and which 
are given to Christ, as Mediator, and which he exer- 
cises, as his right by inheritance, and not from his 
death. Moreover, the word for must be used very 
loosely ; for if the atonement is made as a price, which 
benefits no one until applied, then it is properly made 
for no one. The word offer, too, so often and so 
sweetly used, is not used in scripture in that sense. 
Christ has commanded his gospel to be preached to 
every creature ; and all men are called on, nay, com- 
manded, to repent and believe the gospel ; and assu- 
rance is given that they that do so cordially, shall be 
saved. 

" The views you have given of the relation there 



128 MEMOIRS OF 

was between the shedding of the blood of Christ, and 
those who are profited by it, are certainly correct. 
If there were no persons in the view of the Father 
and the Son, for whom Christ shed his blood, I see 
not how it could be applied to any. For an illustra- 
tion, suppose the executive of the state to make out a 
number of reprieves without any names in them, can 
any criminal be discharged by one of them ] Cer- 
tainly not. The reprieve must be made out in the 
name of the person to be benefited. So the precious 
blood of Christ must have been spilled, in the design 
of the Father and the Son, for those who will be finally 
saved. This the Bible fully sustains. 

" Dear Sister, if these reflections shall give you or 
any of the readers of the Index, any satisfaction of 
mind, or comfort in the love of Christ, or confirma- 
tion in the truth of the gospel, I shall rejoice with you 
and them, for the mercy of our Lord and Saviour Je- 
sus Christ, unto eternal life. 

" I am your servant, for Jesus' sake, 

" Jesse Mercer." 

to dr. wji. h. turpin. 

" Washington, Feb. 10, 1834. 
* # # * 

" It would give me joy to be able to give you some 
good news, but it is a scarce commodity with us. Bro- 
ther Allen passed along like a summer breeze, and 
effected little ; he is a pleasant brother. Brother 
Welch has also passed on without doing any thing. 
Mr. Shepherd had made such a heavy draw on the 
people that W. thought it best to attempt nothing. 
Mr. S. had obtained a subscription of about S150. 



JESSE MERCER. 129 

We had a Mr. Woodbridge, Agent for the A. G-. T. S. 
for foreign distribution, but I think he got but little. 
I was not present, and did not see him. I think we 
are somewhat like a cow owned by several families, 
and subject to be milked at pleasure. These families 
might send out their milk-maids so frequent as to be 
unable to draw any milk from the poor creature. I 
think our benevolent societies had better have a meet- 
ing, and so arrange their visits as not to defeat their 
object. Indeed sir, I am, I think, friendly to the be- 
nevolent objects of our day; but agents are become 
like musketoes, one can hardly be beaten off but ano- 
ther is here. But enough of this. The revival above 
in Franklin and Elbert is still going on I learn, but I 
fear not likely to spread much. 

" Our school is quite full. Brother and sister San- 
ders are quite at home, chin deep in business. I fear 
when they quit, we shall be at a great loss to find 
another yoke of the same mind. Our beneficiaries 
are increasing also. A young man passed me last 
week from the Tugulo, S. C. side, from a region of 
much opposition, and equal amount of ignorance. 

" We have been graciously preserved this inclem- 
ent season in common health. The spring-like weath- 
er now promises to compensate us for all our winter's 
sufferings. I hope and trust you are all in good 
health. Tell brother M.* his 'meal and grits' are 
out. The last, though not so fine as he might have 
wished, has been used up without much (if any) com- 
plaint. I hope his ' head of water' is now full, and 
his stones pecked and sharp, and that he will soon 
send us a good supply.' ' 

* A brother who occasionally contributed to the columns of the 
Index. ^/ 

7 

if 



*> 



.A-«i. 



130 MEMOIRS or 

TO MRS. S. 

'• Washington, Ftb 23J, 1836. 
14 Dear Sister D» 

" I have received several kii^d letters from you, 
and always am pleased with them, though I do not 
answer them, owing to my engagement in the busi- 
ness of the paper. I hope you will not be led to 
think that I am indifferent towards you or your let- 
ters ; far from this. I read with interest yours of 
21st inst. last night, and have concluded, as I am con- 
fined to the house by rain to-day, I would spend a 
little of it in writing a few lines to my sister Dolly. 

" I am glad to learn that you are likely to get on in 
your temporal affairs without any sacrifice, or par- 
ticular injury to yourself. You have great right to 
trust in the Lord who has proclaimed himself spe- 
cially to be the widow's refuge and defence. If you 
could come up to the picture given by Paul to Timo- 
thy in his first Epistle 5 : 5, it would be all you need 
to request, for then all the rest would be sure. 

" Truly, that piece you mention, ' hints to young- 
converts,' is well calculated to bring times past into 
present view ; to make us go back to those days when 
the Lord brought our souls from darkness into light y 
and by his grace created us new creatures in Clirist ; 
or made us ' young converts.' O, how have things 
chan^sd since then! I am sometimes ready to say of 
myself, ' if thou art he : but ah, how altered V This 
is, however, our joy that though we change, the Rock 
of our salvation remains the same. We may truly 
rejoice in the Lord, and make our boast of him all the 
day long. , 
m 






JESSE MERCER, 131 

** You speak of sermons which I have preached in 
days gone by, as precious seasons to you, still held in 
tenacious recollection. Well then, I rejoice I was 
able ever to preach so as to leave a sweet or savory 
memory behind for the consolation of any believer in 
Christ. O, it was not I 7 but the Lord that spoke 
through me, as a certain sound is given by a skilful 
blower of a trumpet. To him be all the praise. I 
hope you find many things in the Index to comfort 
and edify you. Though there are, and of necessity 
will be, many articles of controversy till we learn to 
be of a more meek and quiet disposition like Christ 
our pattern ; yet it is the most anient desire of my 
heart to afford the readers of that paper some solid 
food to strengthen their faith, and improve their spir- 
itual health : and I hope I do not altogether miss my 
aim. Every christian soldier cannot fail to be anx- 
ious to know how the kingdom of Christ advances in 
the nations of the earth, and therefore, I should think, 
would read missionary news with rapture. 

" Nancy joins in best wishes for your happiness, 
and be assured, I am as ever, yours, &c." 

TO THE REV. MR, BOLLES. 

i( Washington, May \lth, 1836. 
"Dear Brother Bolles, 

" I wrote to you, directed to the care of Rev. G. F. 
Davis, Hartford, Connecticut, intended for the Board 
at its last meeting in that city ; but I suppose it did 
not come to hand, as I see no notice of it in the pro- 
ceedings. 

" I am gratified to find you had so full a meeting; 
but regret to see so great a deficit ih the receipts into 



132 MEMOTRS or 

the mission funds. The resolve to raise $100,000 will 
fail by a considerable amount. Alas ! 

" The bible question is an important one. I pre- 
sume it will be advisable to form a Baptist American 
Bible Society or some plan equivalent. Perhaps so- 
cieties formed for the purpose, to send up their funds 
to the treasurer of the* Board, would answer, without 
incurring the expense of a national society. I hope 
the brethren while together, came to some conclusion 
what would be ultimately best for the denomination 
to do. I am inclined to think it would be best (if 
it could be so) for the A. B. Society to be restricted 
to the distribution of the English bible, and then let 
every Foreign Mission Society provide for thsir own 
translations. * # # 

" Our late state Convention was a very pleasant 
meeting. We feel much encouraged. The interest 
taken in that section in our operations, was far greater 
than we anticipated:. I think the dagon of opposition 
is crumbling before the ark of benevolent effort. Our 
funds have been enlarged. The resolution of the A. 
B. S. has brought us in a considerable amount for the 
publication of the Burman bible. At our last year's 
Convention, it was resolved that we would make an 
effort to raise $3000, to aid the raising of the $100,000 
resolved on at Richmond. This resolve has been re- 
deemed, including the sums sent up for the Bible 
cause, almost doubled ! Our treasurer reports since 
last Convention, between 5 and 6000 dollars. 

"A project to build a college (in our town) has 
been in agitation for some time. This project was 
presented to the Convention for their patronage, &c. 
and it was received with peculiar pleasure, and the 
necessary measures taken for carrying it forward to 



JESSE MERCER. 133 

completion. Something like $60,000 are pledged, at 
least proposed to be raised for it, already. Two 
agents are appointed to raise the funds for its accom- 
plishment. I hope it will go on now, well. Sunday 
Schools begin to be more patronized in our state, and 
measures were taken at our late meeting to further 
them. I think a Baptist Sunday School Union would 
be of great usefulness to our churches- I am not op- 
posed to unite on common ground with the Pedoes ; 
but I feel opposed to the inference which must be 
made by every child of common sense, from the re- 
striction not to publish any thing but what all agree 
in, which will be, that those things not published and 
taught are of no importance. 

" We greatly need a Sunday school library^ from 
which a supply could be had everywhere, and at 
any time. 

" I hope the brethren are in health, and that the 
work of the Lord abounds and prospers in their 
hands. 

"With sentiments of brotherly love, I am, dear 
brother, yours and theirs in the Lord. 

Jesse Mercer/' 

to the same. 

u Washington, Oct. 19t7i, 18 38. 
■"Dear Brother Bolles, 

" The circular of Brother Malcom did not reach me 
timely for the session of our Association ; but we had 
just published it in the paper, and we anticipated it in 
our proceedings. I had hoped the churches would, 
notwithstanding the pecuniary embarrassments of the 
country, have sent up an increased amount for foreign 



134 MEMOIRS OF 

missions. This they did; at least the amount sent 
up for the several objects before the body, was greater 
somewhat than in previous years; near 83000. I of- 
fered a resolution, stating the duty of the churches 
to increase their efforts to sustain the Foreign Mission 
Board in its operations. In the argument, the embar- 
rassments of the Board were stated, when amotion was 
made to test the feelings of the members in reference 
to the resolution ; and which would be a specimen of 
what might be looked for from the churches next year. 
In carryinsf out this motion, the members present sub- 
scribed to be paid next session, 81200. The pastors 
of churches promised to endeavor to provoke the 
brethren to imitation in this work. It was hoped 
$5000 might be brought up to the next meeting. But 
I would not have the Board rely on it. 

" When Brother Maclay, agent for the A. & F. B. 
Society was with us, the church and friends at this 
place subscribed over 8700 to be paid in three annu- 
al instalments : one third of that sum we sent up to 
the Association, and 8366 for foreign missions. Xot 
to praise ourselves, but if all the churches would thus 
show their faith by their works, the cause would not 
be hindered or retarded. I can but hope from another 
cause. The Lord has in many places poured out his 
Holy Spirit in a copious manner on the churches, and 
an increase of between six and seven hundred has 
been added to the churches in our associational 
bounds. From these we may look for some fruit, 
which, as the apostle says, may abound to their ac- 
count. But there is a cause which will for some years 
hinder, or render small the amount which otherwise 
might be afforded to the foreign cause. That is the 
raising and endowing our imiversitv. This is a great 



JESSE MER€ER. \25 

work, and will absorb the means of many of our lib- 
eral brethren ; and many will think they cannot do 
any thing more than what they have promised to do 
for that institution, for years ; as the subscriptions are 
taken for three or five years. Anti-ism, too, prevails 
much in the western part of our state. Churches 
and Associations rent and torn to pieces, as you have 
seen in the Index. I hope, however, it has reached 
its acme, and is now ready to take its downward aim, 
and may tumble much faster than it arose. I may be 
deceived in this, as some think pride and covetous- 
ness are its foundations ; if so, they are strong pillars, 
and will be hard to break. We have met, in the 
providence of God, with a severe trial. One of our 
Professors elect, a young and promising man, son of 
our brother Col. A. Janes, has been taken to a world 
unknown. He had been converted hopefully to God 
while at Franklin College, and united with the Bap- 
tist church in Athens, some three or four years ago. 
He, by divine help, was enabled to withstand all the 
buffetings of a college life, and came out with the 
first degree. But the Lord did it, and we must be 
i dumb with silence.' This, though not to be placed 
side with your trial in the death of the lamented 
Knowles, yet is of the same cast, and gives us a simi- 
lar shock. I should like to be informed what is the 
prospect of the Christian Review. Is it likely to be 
sustained 1 It would be of service to it, if it could 
be known as early as possible. The present suspense 
holds some back, who would subscribe if they could 
be assured it would be continued. The eleventh 
number is just received. I have not had time to look 
it over. Such a work will commend itself to the 
thinking mind. 



136 MEMOIRS OF 

u I have reflected on the operations of the Ameri- 
can and Foreign Bible Society, and have thought it 
might do the foreign mission cause an unintentional 
injury. The causes which gave that institution birth 
are very exciting to Baptist minds, and will lead ma- 
ny to do under the excitement of the moment, more 
than they ought to do, all things considered. I pressed 
this consideration on the mind of brother Maclay 
when here. From this view, I am of opinion that the 
A. & F. B. S. should bring all their energies to bear 
on the Burman bible cause for years to come. This 
should be the all absorbing cause with us in the bible 
cause. As the Board last spring were pleased to 
continue me in the President's chair, I feel guilty as it 
regards communicating with them. I have this apolo- 
gy ; the paper informs the Board of all the important 
matters of this country, and leaves little for private 
correspondence; but this dees not excuse my own 
mind. You will present this to the Board, and give 
them the kindest affections of my heart, as brethren 
in the cause of Christ our Lord and master. In the 
execution of the work of universal benevolence, faith 
and patience must have their perfect work. I hope 
and pray the Lord may sustain us all in our united 
labors of love ; but in particular, those who are at 
the windlass, * holding the rope.' 

" My health has been feeble this summer, much in- 
terrupted by diarrhoea, and sometimes rather severe. 
At present, through mercy, in better health. May 
health and blessings attend the members of the Board 
and all friends. 

" I am, dear Brother, yours and theirs, 
11 for Jesus Christ's sake, 

" Jesse Mercer." 



JESSE MERCER. 137 



CHAPTER Vll. 

&Ir. Mercer's connexion with the -Georgia Association. — Extracts 
from his Circular Letters. — Connexion with the General Com- 
mittee. — Baptist State 'Convention, 

The preceding pages exhibit a record (imperfect 
indeed in many respects) of Mr. Mercer's labors as a 
preacher and. pastor : it is now proposed to give a 
more particular and systematic view of his services <as 
connected with the operations* of several important 
religious bodies of the Baptist denomination, and as 
contribute to the support of some of the most promi- 
nent benevolent plans of the age. These services 
were varied, efficient, and useful, and established for 
itim a strong claim upon the affectionate and grateful 
remembrance of the friends of Zion. 

For a long series of years, his name and influence 
were identified with most of the prominent operations 
-of the Georgia Association. This body was organized 
in 1784, according to Mr. Mercer's History of the As- 
sociation; though Mr. Sherwood, in his manuscrit>t 
History of Georgia Baptists, dates its formation a year 
■later. At its organization, it embraced some five or 
six churches ; but so rapidly did it increase, that as 
early as 1792, it numbered fifty-six churches. From 
its first origin, it has been much distinguished for the 
■piety and ability of its members, the wisdom of its 
counsels, and the readiness and efficiency with which 
it has sustained liberal and useful measures for the 
advancement of the kingdom of Christ. It has been 
referred to as a kind of model at the organization of 

most of trie other Associations in the state ; its opiaa- 

7 * 



138 MEMOIRS OF 

ions have been widely circulated and generally re- 
spected ; it lias dismissed a multitude of churches 
from time to time, to aid in the formation of other 
similar bodies ; reared up in its bounds many able 
and successful ministers, who have gone forth to labor 
in other regions in our southern country ; and secured 
for itself (through God's favor) the reputation of be- 
ing, on the whole, one' of the most respectable and 
useful Associations in the United States. But it is 
most evident, to all acquainted with its history, that 
much of its respectability and usefulness is to be at- 
tributed to the commanding influence of Mr. Mercer. 
He was present at its formation, (though then but a 
lad;) net long after his connexion with the church f 
he appeared as a delegate ; and from that time till 
1839, when he was prevented by sickness, he regu- 
larly attended its annual meetings^ From 1795, till 
the session of 1816, he* generally officiated as the 
Clerk of the body ; at the session of the last named- 
year, he was chosen Moderator, an office to which he 
was uniformly re-elected till 1839. His name was. 
generally attached to the most important committees, 
and many of the ablest reports presented from time to- 
time to the body, were from his pen, The Circular 
Letters of 1801, 1806, 1811, 1816, and 1821, were pre- 
pared by him?. They imbody much valuable instruc- 
tion, particularly on matters connected with the dis- 
cipline and order of the church of Christ, and the 
practical duties of christians ; and some of them are 
written with great force and ability, 

In the discussion of all weighty and difficult sub- 
jects, he generally took a prominent pail, and it is 
believed that neither in the Georgia Association, nor 
in scarcely any other important religious body of our 



JftSSK M'fttlCfiR. 13§ 

denomination, with which he has been connected, 
would the members present be willing to decide upon 
any prominent question or measure, without ascer- 
taining the opinion of Mr* Mercer. Hardly any ques- 
tion could arise, upon which he had not reflected 
deeply, and upon which he was not prepared to pour 
forth the light of sound instruction and cogent argu- 
ment. Occasionally, he displayed in discussion un- 
common, and even surprising strength. Some difficult 
and unexpected subject would perhaps be brought 
up during the progress of business, which would call 
forth in protracted debate, the resources of the ablest 
brethren. At a suitable time, the venerable Modera- 
tor would call some brother to the chair, and with a 
meek and childlike air, step forth to give his opinion. 
All would be atftntion and silence, for every one felt 
that a wise man was about to speak. On such occa- 
sions, he was seldom less than interesting and in- 
structive ; and sometimes he would rise to a height 
and power of argument and illustration, that would 
enchain the mind of every listener, and bear down all 
opposition. The intricacies of the subject would give 
way to his close and lucid expositions ; each promi- 
nent point would be brought out to view in the light 
of plain and convincing demonstration ; leaving all to 
admire, at the same time that they would generally 
yield to his opinions, the strength of his mind, the 
clearness of his views, the richness of his resources ; 
and in doubt upon what field to consider him the 
greatest, whether in the pulpit at his favored times, 
expounding the deep mysteries of the gospel, or on 
the floor of discussion, clearing away the intricacies 
and unfolding the merits of difficult and important 
subjects. 



140 MEMOIRS OF 

A circumstance is now present to the writer's 
mind, which may serve as a pleasant illustration of 
the estimation in which Mr. Mercer's views and in- 
struction were generally held at important meetings 
for religious deliberation and counsel. It occurred at 
a ministers' meeting. Some weighty subject had been 
before the body for a considerable time, and many of 
the brethren had presented their views. At length a 
pious and worthy brother rose up, and in his honest 
and simple-hearted way, observed, " Well, I now 
move that Brother Mercer give us his views on the 
subject,[and that the question then be put without any 
further debate," seeming to intimate that it would 
be improper for the question to be taken until the 
Gamaliel of the meeting had expressed his opinion, 
and that after he should speak, little^iore of import- 
ance could well be said. 

As the Moderator of the Georgia Association, and 
it might be also said, as the presiding officer of every 
body where he was called to act in that character, he 
performed his duties with much correctness and dig- 
nified propriety. He was familiar with the ordinary 
rules of debate and business ; he seldom lost sight of 
the proper point amidst protracted discussion, and the 
intricacies of substitutes and amendments; and with- 
out urging business forward in undue haste, he sel- 
dom allowed it to drag along to the useless consump- 
tion of time. In the various bodies where he pre- 
sided, particularly in his more advanced years, a care- 
ful observer would more naturally think of him as an 
affectionate, grave, and venerable patriarch, seated in 
the midst of kind and respectful children, seeming 
attention and order by the strong hold which he had 
upon their love and veneration, than as a person in- 



JESSE MERCER. 14l 

vested by ballot with official dignity, squaring the pro- 
ceedings of the members by the nice and rigid formal- 
ities of parliamentary rules. 

His circular letters have been referred to : a 
more particular notice of them may be proper, and a 
few extracts would, no doubt, be highly acceptable to 
the pious reader. The first complains of a worldly- 
minded spirit amongst the churches, the want of a 
tender, uniting, brotherly affection, and urges the 
brethren to a practical improvement of a few weighty 
and engaging thoughts. The letter is short, and the 
greater portion of it is here subjoined. 

" Dear brethren, we fear you have drunk deeply 
into the intoxicating spirit of the world, by which 
you have conceived an eager lust for the flesh-pots 
in Egypt, or an anxious solicitude after the flat- 
tering fooleries, vain fashions and carnal pleasures 
of this wicked world, which children and fools ad- 
mire, and by which you have greatly lost that meek, 
quiet and harmless spirit which abode in Christ, and 
which should designate you as the children of God 
in the midst of this adulterous and sinful generation. 

" Brotherly love too, we fear, abounds too much in 
word and tongue ; while you foster in your hearts 
that ungodly, nay, that unchristian disposition of he 
ye clothed and he ye filled, and at the same time close 
all the bowels of mercy towards those objects of com- 
passion which are placed in your way as proofs of 
your love to God. 

" Amongst many of you, a friendly, uniting and en- 
dearing spirit is too little cultivated ; you often meet 
each other with an air of as cold indifference,, as you 



142 memoirs or 

do a wicked neighbor. It has become extremely dif- 
ficult to distinguish you as a body, or as individuals, 
from a surrounding wicked world, except in a few 
formalities. The phrase hrother and sister is kept up 
in some sort ; but that too has lost its savor, having 
become formal, it communicates little or no christian 
affection. We fear you are too great strangers to 
the spirit of prayer and earnest travail for the out- 
pouring of the Spirit of God from on high, and the 
coming of the kingdom of Christ with pow r er. 

" And in this time of Jacob's trouble, instead of 
being helpers one of another, bearing each other's 
burdens, and grieved for the affliction of Joseph, eve- 
ry one pulleth away his shoulder from the burden of 
his brother, and careth almost, if not altogether, alone 
for his own individual, and perhaps carnal concerns, 
while the things of the blessed Jesus and his people 
are out of sight, or looked on with indifference. 

" Brethren, these things ought not to he so. And 
that they may not be so, we call upon you in the most 
pressing manner, to seriously consider, and make a 
pious and practical improvement on the following 
engaging thoughts. 

" 1. View your high calling, with which nothing 
on earth can vie. That calling which separates a 
man from the mass of his equals* and seats him on a 
throne of elated glory, and puts the royal ensign in 
his hand, falls infinitely below that calling of which 
you are gracious partakers ; and by which you have 
been taken from the mass of sinners, your guilty 
equals, and translated into the kingdom of God's dear 
Son, made heirs with Christ, and happy expectants 
of a blessed immortality. O delightful thought ! O 



JESSE MH&CEUi 143 

glorious expectation ! Never, O never lose sight of 
it, but keep your eye intent on it while you run for 
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 

" 2i Be mindful of the designs of grace through 
you. Remember that God has purposed by you to 
make known to principalities and powers the exceed- 
ing riches of his wisdom; and therefore, you are 
called to be instruments of his glory ; to appear on 
the same theatre ; to engage in the same exercises* 
and to act on the same exalted plan of action with 
himself, in the accomplishment of those things in 
which very intimately consist the glory and perfection 
of saints, the glory and joy of angels, the glory and 
honor of God, and, in short, the glory and excellency 
of all heaven. O, amazing, stupendous, and ineffable 
grace ! That will delight to take such futile creatures 
as sinful men, deformed with wickedness, absorbed in 
darkness, emaciated with wo ; brands of the burning, 
all vile with pollution, and fit only to be engines of 
perfidy for the devil ; and make them the very means 
by which he will accomplish such all important events* 
O the depths of the riches both of the tvisdom and 
knowledge of God! Hoiv unsearchable aire his judg- 
ments, and his ways past finding out ! Let a sense of 
these things at once humble and exalt you, fill you 
with pious grief and ineffable joy, and with unfeigned 
delight, not only to know, but to do the will of God 
unreservedly. 

" 3. Earnestly anticipate that weight of glory which 
God has prepared for you, and for which he is keep- 
ing you through faith unto salvation. Know ye, that 
here you have no continuing city ; but are as sojourn- 
ers turned in for a night ; your promised land, your 
everlasting portion, your final rest, your heavenly 



144 Memoirs otf 

home, are all before ; let your hearts be also there ; 
and with steadine-is pursue the happy road till you in 
person arrive at the mount of God. Let nought be- 
low the sun beguile your cautious feet. Let nothing 
court your stay on this side Jordan, save to do the will 
of God, which you cannot do in heaven. And be 
ready, like laboring children at sunset, to go home at 
the call of your heavenly Father. To whose gracious 
guidance, faithfulness and love, we commend you 
wishing you an abundance of peace with eternal glo- 
ry, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." 

The second circular address written in 1806, is a 
brief though excellent appeal to the churches, for the 
purpose of urging them to promptness and activity 
in the execution of discipline. 

After illustrating several points in a forcible and 
scriptural manner, the writer concludes with the fol- 
lowing spirited and practical appeal* 

" Suffer no disorderly persons to pass unnoticed 
amongst you. Adopt just measures to induce, or if 
that cannot be done, to enforce the attendance of your 
members in your conferences ; that you may know 
their standing, and lead them to greater degrees of 
glory and virtue. It is a time of great worldly gran- 
deur and extravagance. Look to yourselves ; take 
heed lest there be amongst you some hurtful mixture, 
— some undue conformity to the world — some root of 
bitterness — some cursed thing in the camp, as the 
cause of the present painful complaints. As saith 
the apostle, we stand in doubt of you lest ive have be- 
stowed on you labor in vain, and commending our- 
selves to your consciences in the sight of God, we 



JESSE MERCER. 145 

make the following inquiries. When the people of 
the world are ambitiously seeking honor one of another, 
are you not pushing for popularity too ? When they 
are at frequent and great expenses to support a grand 
parade, do you not increase your bills to be like 
them ] When they change their modes of dress do 
not some of you alter yours too ] When their wo- 
men clothe themselves so thinly that the shame of 
their nakedness does appear, do not some of yours 
clothe themselves or their daughters, in the attire of 
an harlot ? If to these inquiries you answer, no : then 
we ask, whence are the ensigns of mere grandeur in 
your houses ] The intemperate use, or rather abuse, 
of the conveniences, but especially the luxuries of 
life ? The frequenting wicked, though called polite, 
assemblies and other places of public resort, mixed 
with the rabble or the guilty great of the world % 
Whence is it that there are among your women, bare 
elbows — naked arms — exposed breasts — shorn heads* — 
ruffled, or shamefully tight dresses, connected with a 
light, airy deportment, and vain, carnal conversation ] 
" Dear brethren, these things ought not to be once 
named among you as becometh saints : But be ye 
rather transformed by the renewing of the Holy Ghost. 
Cleanse yourselves from these vanities, and keep your 
garments unspotted from the world. Search the scrip- 
tures, that you may know what the will of the Lord 
is, with full purpose of heart to do whatsoever he has 
commanded you. ***** You profess to be Birdie 
Baptists ; — be Bible Christians. Let the spirit be in 
you which also was in Christ Jesus, and let the orna- 
ment of a meek and quiet spirit be in your eyes, what 
it is in the sight of God, of great price ; rather than 
the baubles and gewgaws of the world. Be harmless 



146 MEMOIRS OF 

and like the Redeemer, separate from sinners ; that 
you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. And 
so an abundant entrance shall be ministered to you 
into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ. Now, unto him that is able to do ex- 
ceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think, 
according to the power that worketh in us, unto him 
be glory in the church, by Jesus Christ throughout all 
ages, world without end, — Amen." 

In the Circular of 1811, the writer, in a very pithy .. 
and condensed argument, presents his reasons for re- 
garding the administration of baptism by Pedobap- 
tists, though in the proper mode, as invalid. The 
author first lays down and illustrates the following 
propositions : 

" I. The Apostolic Church, continued through all 
ages to the end of the world, is the only true Gospel 
Church. 

" II. Of this church, Christ is the only Head, and 
true source of all ecclesiastical authority. 

" III. Gospel ministers are servants in the church, 
are all equal, and have no power to lord it over the 
heritage of the Lord." 

From these propositions, satisfactorily established, 
as the author conceives, he draws the following infer- 
ences, " as clear and certain truths" 

" I. That all churches and ministers, who originated 
since the apostles, and not successively to them, are 
not in gospel order ; and therefore cannot be acknow- 
ledged as such. 

"II. That all, who have been ordained to the work 
of the ministry without the knowledge and call of the 



JESSE MERCER. 147 

church, by popes, councils, &c, are the creatures of 
those who constituted them, and not the servants of 
Christ, or his church, and therefore have no right to 
administer for them. 

" III. That those who have set aside the discipline 
of the gospel, and have given law to, and exercised 
dominion over, the church, are usurpers over the place 
and office of Christ, are against him ; and therefore 
may not be accepted in their offices. 

" IV. That they who administer contrary to their 
own, or the faith of the gospel, cannot administer for 
God ; since without the gospel faith, they have nothing 
to minister; and without their own, he accepts no 
service ; therefore the administrations of such are un- 
warrantable impositions in any way. 

"Our reasons therefore for rejecting baptism by 
immersion, when administered by Pedobaptist minis- 
ters are, 

" I. That they are connected with churches clearly 
out of the apostolic succession, and therefore clearly 
out of the apostolic commission. 

" II. That they have derived their authority, by or- 
dination from the bishops of Rome, or from individu- 
als who have taken it on themselves to give it. 

"Ill, That they hold a higher rank in the churches 
than the apostles did, are not accountable to, and of 
consequence not triable by the church ; but are ame- 
nable only to, or among themselves. 

" IV. That they all, as we think, administer contra- 
ry to the pattern of the gospel, and some, where occa- 
sion requires, will act contrary to their own professed 
faith. Now as we know of none implicated in this 
case but are in some or all of the above defects, either 
of which we deem sufficient to disqualify for meet 



14S MEMOIRS OF 

gospel administration, therefore we hold their admin- 
istrations invalid.' ' 

Upon the subject of apostolic succession, alluded 
to in the above extracts, the author makes a few addi- 
tional remarks. 

" But if it should be said, that the apostolic succes- 
sion cannot be ascertained, and then it is proper to 
act without it ; we say that the loss of the succession 
can never prove it futile, nor justify any one out of it. 
The Pedobaptists, by their own histories, admit they 
are not of it ; hut we do not, and shall think ourselves 
entitled to the claim, until the reverse be clearly 
shown. And should any think authority derived from 
the Mother of Harlots, sufficient to qualify to ad- 
minister a gospel ordinance, they will be so charitable 
as not to condemn us for preferring that derived from 
Christ. And should any still more absurdly plead 
that ordination received from an individual is suffi- 
cient ; we leave them to show what is the use of ordi- 
nation, and why it exists. If any think an administra- 
tion will suffice which has no pattern in the gospel, 
they will suffer us to act according to the divine order 
with impunity. And if it should be said that faith in 
the subject is all that is necessary, we beg leave to 
require it where the Scriptures do, that is, every- 
where" 

In the Circular of 1816, the writer takes occasion 
to urge upon the churches some of those important 
duties which arise from their social compact as fellow- 
citizens with the saints, and members of the same re- 
deemed family. Some extracts from this letter will be 
found in a subsequent part of the volume. 



JtfSSE MERC2ft. 149 

The Circular Letter of 1821, is the longest and the 
most elaborate of the series. It contains many ster- 
ling thoughts, but space cannot be afforded for a full 
analysis, nor for many lengthy extracts. The subject 
is the Unity and Dependence of the Churches of Je- 
sus Christ ; which the author thus defines. " By the 
unity of the churches, we mean that they are all under 
one head, all members of one body ; and by depend- 
ence, that necessary connexion which forms them into 
the same body, to which they owe their greatest com- 
petency for practical and virtuous excellence ; and 
their highest felicity in perfection and beauty." 

From the practical remarks with which the letter 
closes, the following are selected : 

" We pray you to walk charitably towards those, 
who, in Christian profession, differ from you in faith 
or practice. And though you cannot reasonably hold 
communion with them at the Lord's Table, * * # # 
yet, dear brethren, we exhort and admonish you to 
cany yourselves towards them as Christian professors ; 
engage with them, and invite them to engage with 
you, in exercises of devotion and enterprises of use- 
fulness ; go with them freely as far as you can pre- 
serve a good conscience and the fellowship of your 
brethren, and stop where you must according to the 
scriptures ; evince to them that the reason why you 
do not yield an entire and cheerful compliance with 
their wishes in communion, is not founded in preju- 
dice or ill-will, but in a conscientious regard to the 
views you entertain of truth and propriety ; extend to 
them your brotherly watch-care, and invite theirs over 
you ; reprove and admonish them in love when you 
overtake them in a fault, and endeavor to reclaim in 



150 MEMOIRS OF 

the spirit of meekness ; and thus, by an affectionate 
intercourse, and a dispassionate, free, and candid in- 
terchange of sentiments, combined with a friendly use 
of Christian discipline, lessen, if you cannot annihi- 
late, the unhappy differences which are between you 
and them. This course, accompanied by the blessing 
of God, we think is the only anchor of hope for the 
union and communion of the present contending reli- 
gious denominations. 

" Furthermore, brethren, we exhort you carefully 
to cultivate in yourselves views of extended and gen- 
eral usefulness. Dismiss, for ever banish from your 
hearts, that God-dishonoring and soul-starving senti- 
ment, that your Christian obligations are restricted to 
the church to which you in particular belong. Re- 
collect that ' what the Spirit saith to the churches/ is 
bound on the observance of ' him that hath an ear.' 
Feel as you ought to feel, as ' members in particular* 
of the whole body of Christ, and bound by his autho- 
rity in the same ties of brotherly love to all and to 
each member of that body ' as you have opportunity 
to do good/ and * always abound in the work of the 
Lord, knowing that your labor shall not be in vain in 
the Lord.' And we also admonish you to esteem 
very highly, as your most gospel attitude, the medi- 
um of your highest privileges, and the source of your 
most extended usefulness on earth, your associated 
union. Here you are ' like a company of horses in 
Pharaoh's chariots/ and • terrible as an army with 
banners/ prepared for united and powerful effort. 
What cannot be done in your individual capacity, 
may receive its highest accomplishment in your asso- 
ciated union. Divided strength is weak, but united 
strength is powerful. Do not treat the resolutions 



££SSE MERCER. 15 1 

and advices of the association with neglect and indif- 
ference, as the counsels of a mere ' advisory body/ 
with which you have no connexion, but as decisions 
and advices of your own body, composed of your 
* messengers, who are the glory of Christ.' If the 
counsels of the association are consonant with the 
word of God, you are bound to observe and obey 
them on Divine authority, as well as from the bond 
of union which holds you together * in one.' Study 
agreement, and endeavor through your associated 
connexion, to come at a uniform practice in the order 
of your religious affairs. Be ready, not as a matter 
of constraint, * but of ready mind,' to act in concert, 
like the churches of Macedonia, of whom the apostle 
bears.this honorable testimony, that ' they are willing 
of themselves' even ' beyond their power/ in any mat- 
ter of general utility, whether benevolent, charitable, 
or religious. Attempt whatsoever God in his word 
has instituted to be done through the instrumentality 
of his church on earth, and fear not. Keep in mind 
you are not alone : even in your associated body you 
are but one detachment of the thousands of Israel's 
hosts. The strength of opposition against you is ' an 
arm of flesh ;' but with you is the Lord your God to 
help you and to fight your battles. And what may be 
done by united and vigorous effort of all the churches 
of Christ in his name, will never be known until the 
experiment is made ; but when that experiment is 
made, the result will be, that the whole earth will be 
full of the glory of God. Let each heart hail the day 
in adding a double Amen. 

" Finally, dear brethren, ' whatsoever things are 
true, are honest, are just, are pure, are lovely, are of 



152 MEMOIRS OP 

good report, — if there be any virtue, if there be any 
praise, think on these things/ 

" And may * the God of all grace, who hath called 
us unto "his eternal glory, by Jesus Christ, after that 
ye suffer awhile, make you perfect, establish, strength- 
en, settle you to da his will ; to whom be glory and 
dominion now and for ever — Amen.' " 

In the body of the above paragraphs, the author had 
included, in a long parenthesis, a condensed argument 
against mixed communion ; which it has been thought 
best to detach from its original connexion, and pre- 
sent by itself. He urges his objections to mixed com- 
munion in the following manner : 

"1. Because the union is broken and the depend- 
ence lost between you and them, so that communion 
would be a shadow, without any proper substance — 
too pretensional for sacred and sincere Christianity. 
2. Because there is no discipline instituted amongst 
the denominations, the influence of which can preserve 
such an attempt at communion from the grossest im- 
positions and wildest disorders ; and of consequence 
must be absurd, until some regulation be established 
among the parties, and they all agree ' to walk by the 
same rule/ and ' speak the same thing.' 3. Because 
you and they are not, and in the present state of reli- 
gious affairs, cannot become, members together of the 
same body, which is a capital requisition in the gospel 
to a meet communion. And, 4. Because the princi- 
ples and practices, which first produced, and still pro- 
long, the difference of denominational character among 
professed Christians, are so heterodox and discordant, 



JESSE MERCER. 153 

that the maintaining of the one is of necessary conse- 
quence the destruction of the other. To attempt com- 
munion in such a state of things, would be to form a 
religious chaos, and to promote envy and strife as the 
legitimate tendency. This may be exemplified im- 
mediately by reference to the ordinance of baptism : 
if the Pedobaptists establish their baptism as true, 
\yours is absurd; but if yours be maintained as the 
gospel ordinance, then theirs is no baptism at all. It 
must then be improper and disloyal to attempt com- 
munion until these discordant principles are done 
away, and the parties conciliated in Christian love 
and union.' ' 

It is now something more than forty years, since an 
effort was made to combine the strength of the denom- 
ination in Georgia for wise and benevolent purposes. 
At the session of the Georgia Association in 1800, the 
following interesting resolution was adopted, viz. : 
" That as a spirit of itineracy has inflamed the minds 
of several ministers, who are desirous to enter into 
some resolutions suitable to carry into effect a design 
of travelling and preaching the gospel, a meeting be, 
and is hereby appointed at Powel's Creek, (Powelton) 
on Friday before the first Sunday in May next, for 
that purpose ; that the same day be observed as a day 
of fasting and prayer to Almighty God for prosperity 
on the design, and for a dispensation of every new 
covenant mercy in Christ Jesus/' 

This proposition, which we shall soon see, resulted 
in some important measures, originated with Mr. Mer- 
cer. In accordance with the appointment of the As- 
sociation, the meeting was held at Powelton, and 
after consultation and prayer for divine direction, a 

8 






154 MEMOIRS OF 

letter was drawn up and addressed to the Association 
at its next session, which " called the attention of the 
Association to the propriety and expediency of form- 
ing a Missionary Society in the state, for the purpose 
of sending the gospel amongst the Indians bordering 
on our frontiers, which was unanimously and cordially 
approbated." Thus it appears that our early fathers 
were men of a missionary spirit. 

Another ministerial conference was held at Powel- 
ton in May, 1802, to deliberate upon the subject of an 
Indian Mission, at which meeting it was proposed that 
a General Committee of the Georgia Baptists should 
be formed, consisting of three members from each 
Association in the state; the leading object of which 
should be to meet and confer with other Christian so- 
cieties, in order to remove differences, and if possible, 
bring about a more general and close union of real 
Christians on the principles of eternal truth." The 
Georgia Association, at its next session, approved of 
the recommendation, and appointed Elders Marshall, 
Walker, and Mercer, to meet that Committee at Pow- 
elton on Saturday before the first Sabbath in May, 
1803. At that time and place, the " General Com- 
mittee of Georgia Baptists" was formed by some eigh- 
teen ministers. The leading objects at first were itin- 
erant preaching, and the establishment of a school in 
the Creek nation ; though at their next annual meet- 
ing, they enlarged their designs, and resolved upon 
measures for the establishment of a Baptist College in 
Georgia. 

The legislature of the state refusing to grant a col- 
lege charter to the Baptists, the General Committee 
was much discouraged and crippled in the prosecution 
of its benevolent designs : still it continued to hold its 



JESSE MERCER. 155 

Eimual meetings for several years, for the purpose of 
devising and executing liberal plans for Zion's en- 
largement. Speaking of the subject of this biogra- 
phy, says Mr. Sherwood, " he was a master spirit in 
the doings of the General Committee from 1802 to its 
dissolution about 1810; was frequently the Secretary, 
always in attendance, and in 1805, wrote the circular. 
In this he overthrows the objections against the efforts 
to establish a college, and against a ministry of more 
improved minds. He was then laboring shoulder to 
shoulder with Sanders Walker, Abraham Marshall, 
James Mathews, Ross, Bledsoe, Talbot, Holcombe, 
Clay, George Franklin, Benjamin Mosely, and other 
choice spirits, the fathers of the denomination in the 
state, men friendly to missions and education ; but of 
late years the charge has been publicly made, that 
missions and education were new schemes, and that 
Jesse Mercer, in patronizing them, had abandoned the 
scriptural path, and the doctrines and practice of those 
who founded and nurtured our churches in early 
times." 

Our sketch of Mr. Mercer's useful services would 
be very imperfect without referring to his connexion 
with the " Baptist Convention of the State of Geor- 
gia" The germ of that body seems to have been a 
resolution drawn up by Mr. Sherwood, and presented 
by Charles J. Jenkins to the Sarepta Association at 
its session in 1820, and which, with a slight amend- 
ment, was adopted in the following words : " Resolv- 
ed, that we suggest for our own consideration, and 
respectfully that of sister associations in this state, the 
propriety of organizing a General Meeting of Corres- 
pondence." The Ocmulgee Association approved of 
the design, and appointed messengers to meet such 



156 MEMOIRS OF 

brethren as might be delegated from other bodies. 
The Georgia Association also, at its meeting in Octo- 
ber, 1821, was highly favorable to such an organiza- 
tion, and appointed messengers. The brethren ap- 
pointed by the two last named bodies, (the Sarepta 
having discovered at last that there was no need of 
such a meeting, and declining to send messengers,) 
met at Powelton in June, 1822, and organized them- 
selves in a formal manner as " The General Baptist 
Association of Georgia," and adopted a constitution. 
In 1826, the constitution was so modified as to admit 
delegates from Auxiliary Societies, as well as from 
Associations; and in 1828, the name of the body was 
altered to that of " The Baptist Convention of the 
State of Georgia." 

The eleventh article of the Constitution explains 
the objects of the body ; and is in these words : " The 
following are the specific objects of this body, viz. : — 
1. To unite the influence and pious intelligence of 
Georgia Baptists, and thereby facilitate their union 
and co-operation. 2. To form and encourage plans 
for the revival of experimental and practical religion 
in the state and elsewhere. 3. To aid in giving ef- 
fect to useful plans of the several Associations. 4, 
To afford an opportunity to those who may conscien- 
tiously think it their duty, to form a fund for the edu- 
cation of pious young men, who may be called by the 
Spirit, and their churches, to the Christian ministry. 
5. To correspond with bodies of other religious de- 
nominations, on topics of general interest to the Re- 
deemer's kingdom, and to promote pious and useful 
education in the Baptist denomination." 

The Convention, as has been seen, commenced a 
very feeble body, embracing only two of the Associa- 



$ESSE MERCERc 157 

tiQTLS in the state, (one of which afterwards withdrew;) 
and its designs were looked upon with much indiffer- 
ence by a large portion of the churches. At length 
iit encountered the most determined opposition, and 
even from some who at first approved of its plans, 
were active in its formation, and for a time in its sub- 
sequent support. But it has gradually, by the foster- 
ing care of heaven, advanced in efficiency and num- 
bers, until now it embraces amongst its constituent 
members, about twelve Associations, besides several 
respectable Auxiliary Societies. Eternity alone will 
reveal the good which has already resulted, and is yet 
to result from the labors of this active and useful 
body ; yet it might not be improper, in this connex- 
ion, to glance hastily at some of the more obvious 
fruits of its exertions. A permanent fund of about 
$25,000 has been gathered up for education purposes ; 
about the same amount has been collected and dis- 
bursed for the support of Foreign Missions ; a con- 
siderable number of Domestic Missionaries have been 
employed in destitute sections of the country, by 
whom an amount of labor has been performed which 
would require the constant service of a single indi- 
vidual probably twenty years, and by whose instru- 
mentality many churches have been established in the 
upper, western, and south-western portions of the 
state. Many hundred volumes of valuable theologi- 
cal works have been put in the hands of our minister- 
ing brethren by the funds of the Convention ; between 
twenty and thirty beneficiaries have been sustained for 
longer or shorter periods at different institutions of 
learning ; and under the auspices of the body, a sem- 
inary for literary and theological instruction has been 
reared up with a respectable endowment, which has 
already conferred great benefits upon the denomina- 



158 MEMOIRS OF 

tion and the country at large, and with the blessing of 
the Almighty, will be a powerful auxiliary to the 
cause of religion and learning for generations to come. 
A much greater amount might have been accomplish- 
ed, if the entire denomination in the state had put 
forth their best endeavors ; but enough has been done 
to afford delightful evidence that God has approved 
of the labors of his servants, and to remind us that we 
cannot place too high an estimate upon the toils and 
sacrifices of our venerable fathers, who have been 
pioneers in this good work. 

Mr. Mercer was not, perhaps, as fruitful as some 
others in devising new and important plans; nor did 
he possess as much executive energy as some in car- 
rying forward a plan, in its perplexing details, into 
practical operation; but how few could judge with 
more accuracy of the merits of any scheme when pro- 
posed ; or were more ready to sustain it in every rea- 
sonable way, when it commended itself to him as wise 
and useful ; or by prudent and well-timed suggestions 
could more readily prune off excrescences, supply de- 
fects, and thus mould it into a proper and practicable 
shape ; and at the same time defend it against the 
short-sighted judgment and eccentric zeal of its erring 
friends. It was in this way, that he impressed his 
* imasre uoon all the leading measures of the conven- 
tion ; thoroughly identifying himself in their devel- 
opment and successful progress, and standing forth to 
view, in his wisdom, prudence, constancy, and untir- 
ing benevolence as, in a very important sense, the 
bright and strong centre of this useful and respectable 
body. He was regularly chosen the Moderator of the 
Convention till the session of 1841, when his feeble 
health and domestic afflictions rendered his attendance 
impossible. He watched over the interests of the 



JESSE MERCER. 159 

body with untiring vigilance ; took every suitable op- 
portunity to explain its objects, and defend it against 
the assaults of its enemies ; never allowing himself to 
become damped in zeal, or alienated in feeling, in 
consequence of any difference of opinion which might 
exist between him and his brethren ; and never shrink- 
ing from any reasonable service, which might at any 
time be imposed upon him. He was a member, ex- 
officio, of the Convention's Executive Committee : 
the meetings of this body were frequent, and the busi- 
ness often laborious ; but on all needful occasions he 
was ever found at his post. 

Mr. Mercer prepared and read before the Conven- 
tion (in 1825,) " An Exposition of the first seventeen 
verses of the 12th chapter of Revelation/ • which, in 
connexion with other essays presented at the same 
time, was published in pamphlet form, and circulated 
pretty extensively amongst the churches. 

The pages of the Convention Minutes were often 
enriched by the valuable and important productions 
of his pen. In the minutes of 1829, appears his 
" Dissertation on the Prerequisites to Ordination ;" of 
1830, an " Essay on the Scriptural Meaning and 
Manner of Ordination ;" of 1831, a circular on the 
" Importance of an elevated standard of Christian 
Morality ;" of 1833, a dissertation on " the Resem- 
blances and Differences between Church Authority, 
and that of an Association." The circular of 1831 
will be found entire in a subsequent chapter of this 
work ; some extracts will also be made from the es- 
says. It may be proper here to state, that to the dis- 
sertation of 1833, as it was republished in the Index, 
there was appended a short " Essay on the Independ- 
ence of the Churches." 



160 MEMOIRS OP 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Air. Mercer's efforts in behalf of education. — Mount Enon. — Co- 
lumbian College. — Attempts at co-operation with South Carolina. 
—Mr. Mercer's views on the subject. — His aid to Mercer Uni- 
versity. — Brief history of the institution. — Project of a collpge 
at Washington, Wilkes co. — Sermon on Education. — Extracts 
from the same, and from Christian Index. 

The cause of education ever found in Mr. Mercer 
an able, indefatigable, and successful advocate. His 
father, as we have seen, was an early and zealous 
patron of learning; and it may with safety be said 
that never, for a moment, were his principles and ex- 
ample in this respect reproached by his distinguished 
son. As a prominent member of the " General Com- 
mittee, " he exerted himself to disseminate correct 
views en the subject amongst his brethren ; and in 
the attempts that were made to establish upon a per- 
manent basis a respectable literary institution at 
Mount Enon in Richmond county, he took an active 
part. This academy was opened in 1S07 ; for seve- 
ral years it progressed with encouraging prospects ; 
but becoming at length encumbered with pecuniary 
embarrassments, it came to a sad and untimely end. 

The failure of the Mount Enon enterprise cast a 
deep gloom over the prospects of education amongst 
the Baptists of Georgia ; but this disaster did not in 
the view of Mr. Mercer, diminish its importance to 
the interests of the denomination, and the general 
welfare of society. The Baptists, as constituting an 
important portion of the population of the country, 
and holding large pecuniary resources in their hands, 



JESSE MERCER. 161 

'tie conceived were under a commanding obligation to 
contribute their portion to the education of the pub- 
lic mind ; and deeply did he feel the necessity of their 
establishing seminaries of learning, which might af- 
ford to their own children the means of a good edu- 
cation, and under such circumstances as would natu- 
rally prevent their becoming alienated from those 
sentiments which, as a Baptist, he considered in ac- 
cordance with the word of God. Especially was he 
impressed with the importance of a well educated 
ministry. The progressive intelligence of society fur- 
nished, in his view, a strong reason why there should 
be a corresponding improvement on the part of those 
who were to be the public instructors of the people 
in sacred things ; and he plainly foresaw, (what sub- 
sequent events have sadly verified in numerous in- 
stances,) that the superior intelligence in the ministry 
of other denominations, would give them the decided 
ascendancy in many of the most important places in 
the country, and that many of the children of Baptist 
parentage, preferring the ministrations of educated 
men, though less inclined at first to their sentiments, 
would gradually attach themselves to their congrega- 
tions, and finally beeome identified with all their de- 
nominational movements. And aside from all such 
considerations, he regarded it a sacred scriptural re- 
quisition, that "the priest's lips should keep know- 
ledge ;" that every minister should, if possible, ac- 
quire that general information which would tend to 
secure for him respect and influence ; and especially 
such an enlarged and accurate knowledge of the 
scriptures, as would render him a workman that need- 
eth not to be ashamed, able rightly to divide the word 
of truth. After all, however, ardent piety in the minis- 

8* 



162 MEMOIRS OF 

try he deemed paramount to every thing else. A 
graceless preacher was, in his estimation, a character 
to be abhorred. None were more anxious than he 
to guard by every possible means, the avenues to 
ministerial preferment against the intrusions of those 
who, from carnal, sordid, earthly motives, would 
thrust themselves into the sacred desk. If at any 
time, persons have uttered or entertained a different 
opinion in regard to Mr. Mercer in this respect, they 
have most egregiously mistaken his principles. 

From the first, he was much interested in the ef- 
forts which were made to establish a college in the 
District of Columbia. His name was enrolled 
amongst the trustees of the institution ; in the midst 
of its long and distressing embarrassments, he clung 
to it with a steadfast affection, and contributed to its 
support with a bountiful hand. Seldom, if ever, was 
an appeal to him for assistance made in vain. And 
in no small degree may it be attributed to the exam- 
ple and influence of Mr. Mercer, that such liberal con- 
tributions were raised in the state of Georgia in aid 
of the college. He deemed it the true policy of the 
denomination to concentrate much of their bounty 
upon this institution until it should be raised above 
its embarrassments, and secure an ample endowment ; 
fearing that the many local movements which were 
commencing in many of the states, would greatly 
cripple its operations, if not hurry it to certain ruin. 

The Baptist State Convention of South Carolina, 
which originated about the same time with that of 
Georgia, took early measures to establish a literary 
and theological institution. It was the anxious de- 
sire of many that Georgia might be brought into co- 
operation with that state in the support of this impor- 



JESSE MERCBR. 163 

tant measure ; and several ineffectual efforts were 
made to this end. Mr. Mercer, though he considered 
the effort premature, was, on the whole, favorable to 
the union of the two states in this enterprise, provided 
it could be secured on proper principles, well satis- 
fied that concentrated action was far preferable to that 
isolated policy which was beginning too generally to 
prevail. His views, however, were not favored by 
his brethren. Insurmountable difficulties, growing 
out of local, state partialities, on both sides of the Sa- 
vannah, prevented that co-operation which was in it- 
self, so important and desirable. In the following let- 
ter addressed to a ministering brother, Mr. Mercer's 
sentiments on some of these points are clearly ex- 
pressed. 

" Washington, March tlth, 183L 
" My dear Brother M. 

" There is no saying more true, (for it is truth it- 
self,) than that of our Saviour, ' out of the abundance 
of the heart the mouth speaketh.' No wonder, as you 
are recently from South Carolina, and yet full of 
South Carolina matters, especially those of vital im- 
portance, whether there or here, that you should 
stick to your old objects, 'like a puppy to a root/ 
And such adherence to good objects is not to be ridi- 
culed by the odious epithets of * bigotry or selfish- 
ness? But to be more serious ; on the subject of 
yours of the 4th inst., I had been addressed by brother 
Manly before the S. C. Convention, and since. I 
have answered him, and can only say to you that I 
am of opinion that union of effort in the education 
business would be more efficient : and, taking an ab- 
stract view of the subject, I am fully of the belief 
that it would be best to unite ; and taking a single 



164 MEMOIRS OF 

view for myself alone, I am on that side. But still, I 
am very doubtful whether it is practicable. In the 
first place, Georgians are like other people, selfish, 
and vain in their imaginations, and I am slow to be- 
lieve they would be gotten to agree to give their mo- 
ney for a union institution of any kind. But secondly, 
I fear if it was attempted on this side or on that side 
of the river Savannah, we could not agree in the pro- 
visions, objects, and minutiae of the institution. There 
is a still greater difficulty with me, one evil into which 
our brethren are constantly running; 'tis one for 
which the people of this country are said to be fa- 
mous, that is, ' to be always doing too much or too 
little/ It is to me certain we all are net yet pre- 
pared to do what each is disposed to do. I have al- 
ways been opposed to these forward steps. I was 
opposed to the commencing the Furman Academy, 
because the Columbian College was not settled firmly 
on its base. The same difficulty is yet on hand. If, 
when that institution was undertaken, all had con- 
tinued at the wheels, it might now have been a flour- 
ishing college. But New- York must have its Hamil- 
ton College, Massachusetts its Xewton Theological 
Institution, Virginia its College, South Carolina its 
Furman Academy, and now Georgia must have its 
"Working Establishment, &c. £cc. ; and I know not 
what next. The proposals as laid down by you and 
brother Manly are fair, quite fair; but it might prove 
a great inconvenience to one or the other. If we be- 
gin together, it must be near the river. Now suppose 
this should be broken up in a few years, and South 
Carolina, or Georgia, should begin to * nib for herself/ 
in what an awkward situation would it leave the 
other ? in a much worse than if the connexion had 
never existed." 



JESSE MERCER. 165 

From the foregoing letter, as well as other letters 
inserted in a previous chapter, it appears that the es- 
tablishment of a manual labor school had become a 
favorite scheme with many of the Baptists of Geor- 
gia. At the annual meeting cf the Convention at 
Buck Head, Burke county, in April, 1831, the follow- 
ing resolution was adopted : " Resolved, that as soon 
as the funds will justify it, this Convention will estab- 
lish in some central part 6f the state, a Classical and 
Theological School, which shall unite agricultural la- 
bor with study, and be opened for those only prepar- 
ing for the ministry. " At the next meeting of the 
Convention, the plan of the institution was so amend- 
ed, as to admit others besides students in divinity, 
under the direction of the Executive Committee. 
Although this plan did not originate with Mr. Mer- 
cer,* and he feared that the movement on the part of 
his brethren was rather premature ; yet no sooner had 
their wishes and purpose been definitely expressed, 
than he embraced the enterprise with his accustomed 
promptitude and zeal, and from the very first became 
one of its most devoted and munificent patrons. In- 
deed, the part which he took in the nurture and en- 
dowment of this Institution, may be considered the 
most important and prominent of the many and use- 
ful benevolent services of his whole life. As it was 
determined by his brethren that the seminary should 
bear his honored name, and from its first establish- 
ment it engaged his unremitted solicitude ; as very 
much of its respectability and success, (whatever they 
may have been,) must be attributed to the liberality 

* The plan seemed to have originated with Mr. Sherwood. In 
1832 Mr. S. established a small manual labor school on his own 
premises, near Eatonton in Putnam county, by way of experiment. 



166 MEMOIRS OF 

of his contributions, and the wisdom of his counsels ; 
and as it was constituted, by his last will and testa- 
ment, the principal heir of his large estate, it would 
seem proper that a more particular account of its 
origin and early progress should be imbodied in his 
biography. The writer feels happy in being able to 
present this account in the language of that worthy 
and indefatigable brother, who for seven years pre- 
sided over the Institution with uncommon ability and 
success. The following extracts are from Mr. San- 
ders' " Valedictory Address, delivered before the 
Trustees, Faculty, Students, and Friends of the Mer- 
cer University," 12th December, 1839. 

" The origin, the design and the progress of our In- 
stitution to its present state, may be proper subjects 
of reflection on this occasion. At a meeting of the 
Baptist Convention of this State in 1829, it was report- 
ed that a Brother Josiah Penfield, of Savannah, hav- 
ing died, had left a bequest of $2,500, to aid in the 
education of poor young men preparing for the Min- 
istry, and to be under the direction of that body, upon 
the condition of their raising an equivalent sum for 
the same object, the interest only of which should be 
used. The equivalent was at once subscribed by the 
brethren and friends present, although it was not un- 
til the beginning of the year 1833, that the legacy was 
paid over to the Convention, and the equivalent made 
collectable. 

" In prospect however of realizing this amount in a 
short time, and already in the possession of small 
sums received from Associations and benevolent so- 
cieties for the same object, it was thought expedient 
by the Convention in 1831, to establish a school, The- 



JESSE MERCER. 167 

ological and Literary, connected with manual labor, 
at as early a period as practicable, in some convenient 
and central part of the state. To effect this without 
delay, the Executive Committee of the Convention, 
whose province it is to transact all its business during 
its recess, was directed to procure subscriptions, to 
examine locations, to receive propositions, and to re- 
port to their next annual meeting. 

" At the meeting of the Convention in 1832, a sub- 
scription of $1,500 was reported, and the respective 
advantage of a variety of locations that had been ex- 
amined. The one we now occupy was selected, the 
purchase ordered to be made, and the school to be 
gotten into operation, if practicable, by the beginning 
of a new year, The Committee, with whom it was a 
maxim * not to go in debt,' speedily made the best ar- 
rangements the means in hand would admit. These 
arrangements consisted of two double cabins with a* 
garret to each, for dwelling, for dining, and for study, 
for both teachers and students. With these limited 
accommodations and with one assistant, I opened the 
Institution in January, 1833, with thirty-nine students, 
having thirty-six of them to board in my own family. 
Among those were seven young men preparing for 
the Ministry. 

" I shall ever remember, with lively emotions of 
pleasure, the patience and cheerfulness with which 
the students of this year sustained the privations and 
trials, to which they were subjected by their cramped 
circumstances. They may be truly said to have borne 
hardness like good soldiers. While living as in a 
camp in their midst, and burdened with the charge 
and responsibility of the Literary, Theological, labor- 
ing, and boarding departments, I found no little sup- 



168 MEMOIRS OF 

port in all my cares and labors, from witnessing, that 
while they lived upon the cheapest fare, had no place 
for study but the common school-room, no place to 
retire to for rest but a garret without fire in the cold- 
est weather, and labored diligently three hours every 
day, no complaint was heard, but that the most entire 
cheerfulness ran through all their words and actions. 

" In a word, those favorable indications of the suc- 
cess of the enterprise, soon began to inspire its friends 
with confidence, and to animate their efforts for the 
extension of its advantages. An amount was soon 
raised to erect another large wooden building, with 
eight comfortable rooms for dormitories, and a brick 
basement for chapel and school-rooms. 

" The second year's operations were commenced 
with increased accommodations, with an additional 
teacher, and eighty students, seventy of whom boarded 
in commons. During the second and third years, the 
building of a larger and comfortable dwelling, a com- 
modious dining-room and two society-halls, abundant- 
ly increased both the comforts and conveniences of 
the Institution. 

" Thus did its interests advance from year to year, 
by the multiplication of its friends, and the increase 
of their bounty, under the superintendence of a Com- 
mittee, whose watch-word was, \ Owe no man any 
thing,' until 1837, the fifth year of its operations, 
Duiing this year, two circumstances occurred to give 
a strong impulse to the advancement of its prosperity. 
Just at this period, a project that had been gotten up 
for a Baptist College, to be located at Washington, in 
"Wilkes county, was relinquished, after nearly one 
hundred thousand dollars had been subscribed for its 
accomplishment. This event was promptly improved 






JESSE MERCER. 169 

by the Executive Committee of the Baptist Conven- 
tion, charged with the interests of this Institution/and 
a resolution was at once passed by them to elevate it 
by the addition of a Collegiate Department. An 
agent was appointed to obtain, if possible, a transfer 
to it of the sums that had been subscribed to the con- 
templated college at Washington. In the execution 
of this labor he was peculiarly successful, and to the 
Convention of 1838, he made a report of the transfer 
of between 50 and $60,000. 

" During this year also, a town was laid out around 
the Institution, and named after the donor of the first 
contribution, which had laid the foundation for its ex- 
istence. Several thousand dollars worth of lots were 
at once sold, with a condition prohibiting the admis- 
sion on them of gambling-houses or tippling shops, on 
pain of forfeiture of title. The number of lots sold, 
as well as the prices, were abundantly increased by a 
judicious arrangement of the Committee appropriating 
$3,000 of the avails, to build a Female Academy in 
the town. 

" Arrangements were now also made to have the 
Male Institution transferred to a separate Board of 
Trustees, to be appointed by the Convention once in 
three years, and required to make annual reports of 
the state of the Institution. By the Convention of 
1838, that Board was appointed, and shortly after met, 
and organized, and made the necessary arrangements 
for the commencement of the operations of the Insti- 
tution in its elevated character, under the title of the 
Mercer University, in the beginning of the present 
year. That board I now have the pleasure to address. 
It is well known to many of you, my brethren, with 
what doubtful apprehensions of duty, and with what 



170 MEMOIRS OF 

consequent reluctance, I gave up the more general 
and active labors of the Ministry, to take upon me the 
charge of this Institution in its infancy. Yielding, 
however, to the strong impressions of my brethren, 
that, as its more immediate and especial design was 
for the improvement of the Ministry, it would afford 
one of the best opportunities of promoting Ministerial 
usefulness ; and encouraged moreover, by my own 
convictions of the importance of early attention to the 
religious sentiments, and ideas of duty to be enter- 
tained by young men entering into the labors of the 
Ministry ; I eventually consented to take charge of it, 
until a suitable opportunity might be presented of 
having the office supplied by another. 

" After laboring six years in the complicated, op- 
pressive, and responsible duties of Principal of all the 
departments of the Institution, and after it had, in the 
dispensation of Divine Providence, been so promoted 
as to justify the division of its several departments, 
and the appointment of a separate officer to the charge 
of each, I supposed, the occasion had occurred that 
would justify my retii^ement. I consequently availed 
myself of it, and obtained your acceptance of my resig- 
nation. But, being unable to procure the services of 
the officer of your choice to preside over the Literary 
department, I was again induced to consent to your 
wishes, in assuming that charge, till the office could 
be otherwise satisfactorily filled. 

" The desired arrangements have now been made. 
You have been able, in all departments, to obtain the 
services of officers of proven abilities to fill their re- 
spective appointments, and I now with pleasure again 
resign my charge into your hands. In retiring from 
your service as an officer of the Institution, permit 



JESSE MERCER. 171 

me to assure you, that the testimonies, which I have 
received from time to time, of the satisfaction which 
my services have given, have constituted no small 
share of the reward of my labors. 

" Permit me here to recount some of the principles 
upon which your Institution was first organized, and 
on which it has since been conducted by its founders ; 
principles which have no doubt contributed eminently 
to its past success, and in favor of which evident indi- 
cations of Divine approbation have been manifested. 
In the first place, it was a principle with them to de- 
liberate maturely on every subject of investigation, 
and to examine well the ground about to be occupied, 
before they took their position. So far from being 
hasty in their conclusions, or rash and precipitate in 
their acts, they took care to satisfy themselves fully 
with regard to the merits of every subject that pre- 
sented its claims to their attention, before they put 
forth their labors in its behalf. 

" This they did, not from a belief in the pernicious 
doctrine, that a good end will justify any unhallowed 
means. Such a doctrine they would have individually 
spurned, however it may be entertained by some great 
men of the day. But this they did, from the convic- 
tion that it is the duty of rational and accountable be- 
ings, to have their principal energies directed towards 
the accomplishment of great and important objects, 
that they may the better obey the injunction * whatso- 
ever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.' 
This principle they by no means overlooked in the 
subject of our present reflections. As a Classical Ed- 
ucation of candidates for the ministry had long been, 
and still was, reprobated by many, it was the more 
necessary that they should make a careful and tho- 



172 MEMOIRS OF 

rough examination of the subject, before they engaged 
in its promotion. But the more carefully and tho- 
roughly they examined it, they were but the more 
fully persuaded, that it was an object worthy of the 
prayers and labors of all the friends of God or man. 
Their efforts therefore, made in the prosecution of this 
object, have not only been with an approving con- 
science, but with unrelaxed energy and ardent prayer, 
and have not been in vain in the Lord. 

" Although since the origin of this Institution, there 
have been but few among us entering the ministry, 
yet it has, no doubt, been the means of abundantly 
enlarging the sphere of usefulness of a portion of that 
few, not only from our own state, but also from neigh- 
boring states. It has aided about twenty young breth- 
ren in their preparation for their labors, and fifteen 
of them gratuitously. Several of these are now en- 
gaged acceptably and successfully in the field of labor. 
Their efforts have already been abundantly blessed, in 
promoting revivals of religion in the different sections 
of country to which they have been called, as well as in 
advancing the benign objects of christian benevolence. 

" 2d. Your Institution has also been built upon the 
faith of that divine principle of truth, * that except the 
Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.* 
Its founders have not stopped at making sure of a 
good object and then laboring diligently for its ac- 
complishment. In all their efforts, they have ac- 
knowledged God, and sought his blessing in earnest 
prayer. How often and how fervently have they, in 
the language of the pious Psalmist, prayed, ' Estab- 
lish thou the work of our hands upon us, yea, the 
work of our hands, establish thou it/ And the Lord 
hath graciously heard their prayers, and wonderfully 



JESSE MERCER, 173 

granted their desires, and exalted their Institution to 
an elevation of character and usefulness, transcending 
in so short a time, the most sanguine anticipations of 
ks warmest friends. In retrospecting its history, we 
are called upon to recognise the hand of God, not 
only in building up the interests of the Institution, 
and giving it favor in the eye of the people, but more 
particularly in the frequent revivals of religion, with 
which he has been pleased to visit it; and these, 
mostly through the instrumentality of the young breth- 
ren here preparing for future labors in the ministry* 
Here the Lord has said to them, cast in your nets for 
a draught, and in so doing, they have enclosed, to 
their astonishment, a multitude of fishes. This they had 
little expected, and have been willing to receive it as 
a divine acknowledgment of the acceptance of their 
labors. It has become to them a verification of the 
promise, ' and, lo ! I am with you always/ and an an- 
tepast of the blessedness of an instrumentality in the 
salvation of immortal souls. By the founders and 
contributors to the institution, this may be regarded 
as a demonstration of the importance of the work in 
which they are engaged, as an expression of the di- 
vine approbation of the labor of their hands, and a 
striking evidence of the answer of prayer. To all 
future officers, members and patrons of the Institu- 
tion, it affords a lively encouragement to labor with 
diligence, and to pray without ceasing. 

"It is a he art- cheering subject of contemplation, 
that but one year out of seven has passed away with- 
out more or less religious revival among the students ; 
and that nearly one hundred of them, have here 
hopefully been translated from the kingdom of dark- 
ness to that of light ; some of whom are already ac- 



174 MEMOIRS OF 

tively engaged in the labors of the ministry. Who 
can tell the influence these may have on the destinies 
of the world, through the instrumentality of their la- 
bors and their prayers ? 

" 3d. Another principle, early laid down and firmly 
adhered to by the founders of your Institution, was 
' to keep out of debt.' The Convention of 1832 
passed a resolution, ' that no debt shall be contracted 
by the Committee or Trustees on the credit of the In- 
stitution, without funds in hand to pay ; otherwise, in 
every such case, it shall be on their own individual 
responsibility. ' The wisdom of this policy cannot be 
too highly appreciated. 

" Mount Enon in our own state, and the Colum- 
bian College in Washington City, were beacons of 
warning for our denomination ; and well have they 
improved the melancholy lessons of instruction that 
had here been taught them. Instead of embarrass- 
ment, and perplexity, and loan, and abatement of 
funds by usury, you have now before you, the free 
and unfettered use of all the property and funds of 
your Institution. 

# # # # # 

" 4th. Another important principle with the found- 
ers of your Institution, was, ' to go more for substance 
than for show, and more for sense than sound? In 
digesting systems, in erecting buildings, in arranging 
studies, in selecting teachers, in a word, in every 
operation of the Institution, this principle has had its 
influence. It was the high consideration in which 
this principle was held, that recommended so strongly 
to them the manual labor system of education. They 
could readily see that if thoroughly earned out, it 
was well calculated to make effective practical men : 



JESSE MERCER. 175 

men, not only able to understand, but also able to 
perform whatever service might be necessary to pro- 
mote the interest of their country or their own pros- 
perity. It is on this principle, that the instructions of 
the teachers have been addressed to the understand- 
ing of the pupils, and not merely to the memory, and 
that public examinations have been required to be 
thorough and undeceptive ; and on this principle it is, 
that more attention has been paid to the solid branches 
of mental and moral improvement, than to any of the 
forms of fashionable etiquette. 

" The result has proved that honesty is the best 
policy; that however the world may labor to deceive, 
it is not willing to be deceived ; and that its imitators 
in hollow show, are not the objects of its confidence 
and respect. While on this subject, I would remark 
that if I have understood the views of this board, 
they are in entire harmony with this principle ; that 
they consider it a matter of more importance to have 
good instructers, than fine buildings ; that the eleva- 
tion of character and usefulness of a college depends 
more upon the talent and learning and moral princi- 
ples of its faculty, than on the number and splendor 
of its edifices." 

Mr. Sanders was succeeded in the presidency of 
the Institution by Rev. Otis Smith, who conducted its 
affairs for the three successive years. The Rev. Mr. 
Sherwood, now President of Shurtleff College, Illi- 
nois, was for some time connected with the Institution 
as Theological Professor.* It has been highly grati- 

* Besides the individuals already named, the following have been 
connected with the Institution for linger or shorter period?, as in- 
structers: E. Mover, J. O. M'Pimirl, .John F. Hillycr, W. D. 



176 MEMOIRS OF 

fying to the friends of the University, that the num- 
ber of theological students has of late increased, thus 
brightening the hope of realizing the accomplishment 
of the most prominent design for which the Seminary 
was founded. On account, however, of the late un- 
paralleled pecuniary embarrassments of the country, 
the destruction of the principal building by fire, and 
other causes, the Institution has been much impeded 
in its operations; yet it would be wrong to relinquish 
the hopes which its past success has inspired ; and 
still more criminal for the denomination to withhold 
their vigorous support from a seminary so needful for 
their prosperity, and upon which so much prayer, and 
labor, and pecuniary bounty have been bestowed. 

In the preceding extracts from President Sanders' 
Address, and also in one of Mr. Mercer's letters to 
Mr. Bolles, in the 6th chapter, there is reference to a 
plan for a time entertained, of establishing a Baptist 
college at Washington, Wilkes county. This was 
suggested to the minds of one or two pious brethren, 
at that place, upon the final determination of the 
Presbyterians to establish their Institution at Med- 
way (near Milledgeville) rather than at Washington, 
these two places being strong competitors for the 
honor. Mr. Mercer favored the suggestion, and indeed, 
sustained it with a zeal and devotion uncommon, 
even for himself. It was, however, feared by many 
that the Mercer Institute and the Baptist College 

Cowdry, J. W. Attaway, Robert Tolefree, A. Williams, R. J. Mil- 
ler. The present faculty are as follows*. Rev. John L. Dagg, 
Professor of Theology a:.d President pro tem. ; B. O. Pierce, 
Professor of Natural Philosophy and Chemistry, S. P. Sanford, 
Prof. Mathematics; Rev. P. H. Mell, Prof. Languages; T. D. 
Martin, Tutor. 



JESSE MERCER. 177 

could not both be properly sustained at separate loca- 
tions ; and at last it was resolved by a majority of the 
Trustees of the College, that the project should be 
abandoned, and the charter given up. Seldom, if 
ever, was Mr. Mercer known to manifest so much 
sensitiveness and mortification at any decision of his 
brethren. It was evident that a gourd had been 
smitten, in whose shade at least in anticipation, he 
had reclined with uncommon interest and delight. 
And it was a rare occurrence indeed, that the opinion 
and influence of Mr. Mercer should be overruled in 
any matter in which he had taken such a decided 
stand. Under such circumstances, some men would 
have become permanently alienated from the councils 
of their brethren, and settled down into a state of sul- 
len disquietude, if not of disgust. Not so Mr. Mer- 
cer. He acted the part of a truly magnanimous 
christian. " I cannot work alone" was his emphatic 
declaration, " / must go with my brethren ;" and be- 
fore the close of the year he subscribed jive thousand, 
dollars for the endowment of the Collegiate Depart- 
ment at Penfield. From that time he turned towards 
the Institution in its remodelled character, the full tide 
of his good feelings and princely munificence; thus, 
presenting an example worthy the consideration of 
all, especially of such as are ready to falter and draw 
back, if in all things they cannot have their own way. 
It would be tedious to enlarge upon all the useful 
services rendered by Mr. Mercer to this important 
Institution, aside from his numerous and liberal con- 
tributions. His frequent visits to the field of its ope- 
rations, and often when he was oppressed with bodily 
infirmity; his cheerful conformity to the genius of 

9 



178 MEMOIRS OF 

the establishment at its first origin, when, for example 
sake, and to relieve others pressed with many cares, 
he would stoop clown and make up his own bed ; his 
unwearied attention as a member of the Executive 
Committee, and of the Board of Trustees, to all ne- 
cessary business ; his calm and patient endurance in 
times of trial ; his wise, seasonable, and apparently 
indispensable counsel in matters of special doubt and 
difficulty; his many and fervent prayers, in which he 
would so feelingly and appropriately seek the direc- 
tion of the Father of Lights, and commend the Insti- 
tution to his Almighty protection — all these things, 
and many more which might be specified, are deeply 
engraven upon the minds of his surviving coadjutors ; 
and as they rise up to recollection, cannot fail to re- 
mind them how highly they were favored whilst they 
enjoyed his presence and aid ; and how much they 
have lost by his lamented death. The beneficiaries, 
and other students in the seminary, will long remem- 
ber how often his venerated form was seen in their 
midst; with what tender care he watched over their 
welfare ; and how often and how affectionately he 
urged upon them his rich, paternal counsels. 

In speaking of Mr. Mercer's exertions in behalf of 
the cause of education, a reference might be proper 
to a valuable discourse on this subject, which he de- 
livered before the Convention in 1S34. It was pub- 
lished by request of the body, and is entitled " Know- 
ledge indispensable to a Minister of God." It is 
founded on a selection from the 4th and 6th verses of 
the 6th chapter of 2 Corinthians. " Approving our- 
Selves as the ministers of God — by knoicledge" In 
this discourse, two important questions are discussed : 



JESSE MERCER. 179 

u 1. What knowledge is necessary to a minister of 

God r $ 

"2, How is it attainable ?" 

# # # # 

As to what knowledge is necessary to a minister of 
God, the author remarks, " To this inquiry we unhesi- 
tatingly answer— The Knowledge of the Truth. 
For we know of no truth, the knowledge of which 
would be unimportant to a minister of God. We 
should like, dear friends, you would now throw your 
thoughts over the universe, and see if you can dis- 
cover any truth which would be unnecessary to be 
known by a gospel minister. If it should be said by 
any, that it ought to be restricted to the knowledge of 
the truth as it is in Jesus ; then we answer again, 
that we know of no truth which is not in Christ Jesus. 
The scriptures declare, ' It pleased the Father that in 
him all fulness should dwell.' He it is ' that filleth all 
in all. 9 ' He is head over all things to the church/ 
And ' by him all things consist.'— Then we ask, what 
truth is not in Christ Jesus ] But the whole may be 
summed up in the knowledge of God and his works. 
— Nay, God is only to be known through his works 
of nature, grace, and providence." 

" We conceive a thorough knowledge of God in 
his natural and moral perfections, (on which the scrip- 
ture places the highest value,) is of the utmost im- 
portance to the minister, to fill him with a holy rever- 
ence, and to guard him against fanciful constructions 
of scripture, and the forming of false systems of theol- 
ogy. The standard of truth is in the God of truth. 
The most fruitful source of error is ignorance, or 
vague notions of God. But if God be truly known 



ISO MOiorRs or 

and kept in view, it regulates all the thoughts of the 
heart, and fixes the sentiments of the soul according- 
ly. Whatever, therefore, is in strict accordance with 
God's nature and perfections, must be truth ; and 
whatever is inconsistent therewith, however plausible, 
must be false." 

In considering the question, how is this knowledge 
attainable ] the author makes some plain common- 
sense observations. A few sentences only can be co- 
pied. " This knowledge, then, we say is to be attain- 
ed only by a close application to the study of the works 

of God. 

# # # * » 

"It is to be sought as silver. How do men act. 
when they lay themselves out to get money ] Why, 
they engage in some mechanism, profession, merchan- 
dise, or agricultural pursuit, in which they ply them- 
selves with untiring diligence to gain their object ; so 
all good men, but especially ministers of God, ought 
to apply themselves to the acquisition of knowledge. 
But Solomon uses a bolder comparison. He says, it 
must be searched for as for hid treasures. Here 
reference is had to the anxious solicitude — the patient 
and indefatigable perseverance, with which men dig 
after the precious metals and other valuable sub- 
stances, hid in the bowels of the earth ; which can be 
better conceived than described. But as knowledge 
is more precious than silver, or gold, or rubies, it 
ought to be sought not only with equal, but superior 
application and untiring diligence ; and then we have 
the encouraging promise of attaining the precious 
boon. Arid here we would ask, why God hid his 
most precious natural treasures in the bowels of the 



3 ESSE MERCEK. 181 

earth, or rather why he did not spread them over its 
face, so that the inhabitants of the world might just 
go out and gather up what they needed, as the chil- 
dren of Israel did the manna round about their tents % 
Why, for this simple reason, it did not suit his plan. 
He formed man for labor, and constructed every 
thing accordingly : so that if man obtained them, he 
should dig deep for them: and the harder for the 
more precious, — And thus, says Solomon, in the ac- 
quirement of knowledge, ' This sore travail hath God 
given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.' 
And it is evident, that the most deep and valuable 
treasures of wisdom and knowledge are gained by the 
most patient and persevering efforts of the mind," 
* * * * # 

" Jude, in describing these same persons, [false 
teachers,] says, verse 10, * These speak evil of those 
things which they know not; but what they know 
naturally \ as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt 
themselves.' 

" Here observe, these false teachers are reproached 
for knowing nothing, but what they know naturally, 
as brute beasts. — In order, brethren, to perceive the 
full force of the contempt and derision thrown on these 
pretended teachers by the apostles, it is necessary to 
conceive rightly, how natural brute beasts acquire 
knowledge — namely, by instinct, or the force of hab- 
it. — Now, then, it is plain that these apostles thought 
it ridiculous for any man to pretend to be a teacher 
who knows nothing, but what he knows naturally as 
brute beasts, by infusion or force of custom ; without 
an effort of the understanding, or the exercise of the 
reason. 'Tis true, a man residing in a learned com- 
munity, will drink in the knowledge of the society he 



1S2 MEMOIRS OF 

keeps, and may seem to be learned ; at least he may 
use many learned words; but not having exerted bis 
understanding and reason in obtaining- it, but having 
received it as a brute beast does, cannot use his know- 
ledge understandingly, but rather as parrots do, and 
therefore is ever subject to expose himself, and the 
cause he attempts to advocate, to contempt, and his 
hearers to decej^tion. The Lord save us from a:. 
rinifltry I" 

In the conclusion of the discourse, the author an- 
swers some objections. 

11 But objection is made to schools for the educa- 
tion of younsr ministers, on the ground that the in- 
struction afforded is human learning. To see the 
weight of this objection, it is requisite to know what 
ectors intend by human learning. If they 
mean instruction in human inventions, in which the 
knowledge of God and his works are not taught, then 
we join heart and hand with them to put it down : 
but if they intend to object to all learning, which is 
received by human instrumentality, then we most 
cerely pity them as ignorantly opposing the institu- 
tion of God : for we think no man can read the scrip- 
tures, and not see that God requires knowledge to be 
imparted from the parents to the children, and fi 
the wise to the simple. But we presume the objec- 
tion proceeds altogether from a mistaken notion of the 
nature an 1 design of the instructions given in those 
schools. They have heard of geography, geology, 
chemistry, history, asl phy, and theolo- 

gy; * * * but what is the study of these, but the study 
of the works of God, in creation, and pjovidence, and 



JESSE MERCER. 183 

grace 1 For instance : Is the earth the Lord's % Ge- 
ography describes it, in its extent, with its different 
soils, climates, and productions — its inhabitants, with 
their various religions, laws, and customs. 

" Geology gives a view of its state, and teaches the 
nature of its pebbles and mighty rocks, stupendous 
mountains and majestic seas : where the wonders of 
God are seen. 

" Chemistry enables us to discover and separate 
the peculiar properties of all natural bodies, and learn 
their various uses. 

" History teaches us the events of time — the rise 
and downfall of nations and kingdoms, together with 
a minute account of those facts which have transpired 
under the providence of God, in the successive gene- 
rations of earth ; so indispensable to a right under- 
standing of scripture. 

" Astronomy teaches us of the heavenly bodies — the 
sun, moon, and stars — their distances, magnitudes, 
and velocities — wherein is declared the glory of God, 
and shown his handiwork. ^^fct 

" Philosophy teaches the nature and reason of 
things. It is the system in which general causes and 
effects are explained ; and mind, both human and (di- 
vine, with all its natural properties and moral powers, 
is examined and exhibited in its dignity, beauty, and 
moral excellence. 

" Theology teaches of divine things. It is the stu- 
dy of the Bible — a critical examination into its lan- 
guage — the modes and figures of speech employed hi 
it — the manners and customs of the times in which it 
was written — and the best rules of construction, in 
order to come at the truth, taught in that sacred 
volume. 



184 MEMOIRS OF 

" Thus you see, brethren, the instruction given, 
under these and such like heads, in the schools, are 
not about the inventions and theories of men of cor- 
rupt minds, but of the truth of God as displayed in 
his works of nature and grace ; and as such proper, 
that the mind of a minister of God should be deeply 
imbued with it. 

" Again, objection is made to the Convention, as 
opposing a call to the ministry, and designing to rear 
up a set of graceless preachers. In reply to the first 
cause of complaint, we say the Convention believes 
that no man ought to attempt, or be encouraged to 
preach the gospel, until he has a full satisfaction in 
his own conscience, that God requires it of him, and 
can afford his brethren the same satisfaction in regard 
to it. And as to the second, we say, that one of the 
first requirements for admission is, that the applicant 
must be licensed to preach by the church of which 
he is a member, and be approved by surrounding 
churches — so that if the Convention should unfortu- 
nately contribute to raise up a set of graceless minis- 
ters, the churches shall share in the first blame. 

"And now, dear brethren in the ministry, let us 
enjoin on you the acquisition of knowledge ; by the 
right use of which you may approve yourselves as the 
ministers of God, We urge this on you, that you 
may understand the Bible — the Bible is a learned 
book, and cannot be understood well without much 
pious knowledge and learning. He who now ad- 
^fifesses you regrets that he knows so Utile of the Bi- 
ble. After reading and studying it for near half a 
century in some sort, he has to make this humbling 
confession, that he knows to his shame, comparative- 
ly but little of the Bible. This he does not say for 



JESSE MERCER. 185 

his own sake, but for yours, young brethren, that you 
may devote your youthful days to the acquisition of 
all possible useful knowledge. Give yourselves to 
reading and study, that you may be approved unto 
God, and that your profiting may appear to all ; to 
the honor of God and the advancement of the king- 
dom of Christ, Amen." 

A few remarks of Mr. Mercer on the subject of ed- 
ucation, which appeared under the editorial head of 
the Christian Index in August, 1834, will closa this 
chapter, 

" Education is not, in the least, designed, so far as 
we know, among Baptists, by any who are engaged 
to promote it in the ministry, to usurp the place or 
take the power of any of those gifts, talents, or mental 
endowments which God by his holy Spirit imparts, 
end without which no man has any right to pretend 
to be a minister of God, But only to assist him, in 
those qualifications which it becomes him to possess, 
in order to discharge the duties incumbent on him by 
the gifts and appointment of God, Can ministers be 
considered, in regard to divine influence and power, 
what a cork is to the stream on which it floats — hav- 
ing no care, no interest, no duty or concern as to how 
their ministry is performed ] Or are they to be view- 
ed as ambassadors, whose duty it is to prepare for, 
and endeavor to perform the duties of their appoint- 
ment in the best manner possible % The scripture 
will decide the question in the affirmative in accord- 
ance with the voice of reason and common sense. 

" Education is in nowise designed as a mere en- 
dowment or accomplishment, whereby the man by 

9* 



186 Memoirs of 

the Use* of high and learned words, may raise the ad-* 
miration of his hearers ; or by the excellency of 
speech and enticing words of man's wisdom, gain the 
applause of the great of the world. These are mo- 
tives utterly unworthy the minister of Christ. But to 
enable him, in the use of right words, to set forth the 
truth to his fellow men, in the most plain and forcible 
manner. We consider education to the minister, 
what clothes are to a man. They have no power in 
them to make the man, yet they are very necessary 
both to his comfort, and to tender him acceptable to 
his fellow men. So education is very necessary to 
the happiness and acceptance of a minister in the 
course of his ministry. Suppose God was to call a 
poor young man to go and preach the gospel ; and he 
had no suitable clothes, nor means to get them, would 
it not be right for his brethren who were able, to sup- 
ply them ? Doubtless it would. So also, should God 
call a poor young man destitute of the learning which 
would render him an acceptable preacher, would it 
not be proper to put him to reading and study, in or- 
der that his profiting might appear to all ] 

" Again : The minister is a workman for God, and 
words are his tools. A mechanic, to do good work, 
must have a variety, and a knowledge of the use of 
tools. So a minister, to do good work in preaching 
for God, must have a fund, and be acquainted with 
the right use of words. But how shall he attain to 
this right use of words, unless he studies it % Does 
God give the knowledge of language now ] It would 
seem that many think, the less a man is educated, the 
more plain, forcible and useful he is as a preacher ; 
but the fact is exactly the reverse. It ought to be ap- 
parent to every one, that the less a man knows, the 



JESSE MERCER. 187 

poorer must be his stock of words, and the less his 
capacity to use them advantageously. The man of 
understanding and wisdom alone can use knowledge 
aright. He that knows the power of words, can use 
them to express his ideas plainly ; and this is the pro- 
per use of education. The learned minister of God, 
under the influence of a right spirit, will use his know- 
ledge to present truth, not floridly, but clearly ; not 
in the eloquence of human wisdom, but in the simpli- 
city of demonstration, commending himself to every 
man's conscience in the sight of God. 

" We close these remarks by saying, that the argu- 
ment drawn from the gifts and promises of God to in- 
spired men, in favor of the advantages of ministers now> 
is, in our judgment, a very deceptive one ; because 
the analogy is not true. Prophets and apostles doubt- 
less had a peculiar degree of inspiration, by which 
their writings constitute the inspired scriptures j 
but will any man pretend that ministers are now in- 
spired so that their sermons may with equal propriety 
be styled inspired sermons ? If so, the scriptures are 
not the only rule of faith and practice, but these ser- 
mons have equal claim. We think the absurdity of 
such a sentiment will fully refute the argument, and 
lead us to depend alone on the holy scriptures for all 
our knowledge of the mind and will of God, in all 
matters of faith and duty." 



155- MEMOIRS OI 



CHAPTER IX. 

Mr. Mercer's efforts in the Missionary cause. — Formation of the 
Powelton Mission Society. — Mission Board of the Georgia Asso- 
ciation. — Mission to the Creeks. — His favorite argument for Mis- 
sions. — Letters in defence of benevolent plans, from the Index.— 
Letter to Mr. Shuck. — To Mr. Bolles on the Abolition Excite- 
ment. — Remarks from the Index on the same subject. — His kind 
feelings towards the northern brethren. — Skeleton of a Missionary 
Sermon. — Letter on the M Imprisonment of the Missionaries to 
the Cherokees." 

The blessed cause of Missions was ever dear to the 
heart of Mr. Mercer. It might be said that he was, 
in truth, an active and efficient domestic missionary 
for nearly thirty years, a large portion of that time 
being actually spent in itinerant labor. An interest 
in foreign missionary operations was roused in his 
bosom at an early period, by the accounts which 
reached this country through Rippon's Register, in 
relation to the labors of the English Baptists in India. 
After the return of Mr. Rice from the East, he soon 
caught the fire which was scattered abroad by that 
wonderful man, and communicated it to his churches. 
Thence the sacred leaven soon found its way into the 
Georgia Association. In the minutes of that body for 
1S14, is found the following record: " According to 
a suggestion in the letter from the Whatley's Mill 
Church, Brother Mercer presented and read the Cir- 
cular and Constitution of the ' Savannah Baptist So- 
ciety for Foreign Missions,' and then moved for 
the approbation of the Association, which was given 
most willingly and unanimously. Whereupon it was 
thought proper to recommend the subject, for its evi- 



JESSE MERCER. 189 

dent importance, to the consideration of the churches ; 
and Friday before the first Sabbath in May next was 
named as a day on which all, who were individually 
disposed, as well of other Associations as our own, 
might meet at Powelton, in Hancock county, to form 
a Society, and digest a plan to aid in the glorious 
effort to evangelize the poor heathen in idolatrous 
lands" 

Pursuant to this notice, a number of brethren and 
friends assembled at Powelton on the 5th of May, 
1815, and formed " The Powelton Baptist Society for 
Foreign Missions/ ' Of this highly useful and respect- 
able Society, Mr. Mercer was President, and Gov. 
Rabun, Recording Secretary. The amount raised 
the first year for missionary purposes, was nearly five 
hundred dollars. The following is the conclusion of 
a brief account of the origin and first year's operations 
of the Society. "In the conclusion of this brief 
sketch, the Board of Directors cannot forbear ex- 
pressing their gratitude to the Father of Mercies, that 
success has attended their exertions, far beyond their 
most sanguine expectations ; and although the friends 
and patrons of the Institution have been obliged to 
encounter the frowns of some and the prejudices of 
others, we still believe the cause is God's, and must 
ultimately prevail. For we recollect, that when the 
Lord inspired his people with a disposition to rebuild 
his temple, he inspired the hearts of many others to 
assist in furnishing the means : And notwithstanding 
a Sanballat and Tobiah were permitted again and 
again to hinder the work, yet the most ample success 
crowned the efforts of the feeble few. And can we 
believe that less certainty will be manifested in the 
erection of the great spiritual temple, the materials of 



190 MEMOIRS Otf 

which are now scattered abroad in all parts of the 
world ? No ; we cannot, we will not indulge the un- 
generous thought, but will rather look forward and 
hail the approach of the glorious period, when the 
great trumpet shall be blown, and those who are 
ready to perish shall come from the east and the west, 
and from the north and the south, and shall sit down 
at our Emmanuel's feet, and learn and feel his grace. " 

The same year, (1815) the Georgia Association 
unanimously agieed to co-operate with the Baptist 
Board of Foreign Missions, and resolved itself into a 
body for Missionary purposes, and appointed a Com- 
mittee, of which Mr. Mercer was chairman, to digest 
rules for its regulation ; to address a circular to the 
churches upon the interesting and important subject, 
and to hold correspondence with the Foreign Mis- 
sionary Board. 

At the session of 1816, the above named Commit- 
tee reported a system of Rules for the regulation of 
the Missionary operations of the body, which with 
some amendment were adopted. By these regula- 
tions, the Association was required to choose annually 
seven Trustees, to be denominated " The Mission 
Board of the Georgia Association," and to be a 
component member of the General Missionary Con- 
vention, and also the organ of domestic missions, ac- 
cording to the openings of Providence, the means in 
hand, and the instructions of the Association ; or as 
their own judgment might direct from time to time. 

The Mission Board, regularly appointed in accord- 
ance with the above regulation, prosecuted its busi- 
ness with much success for many years, assisted in 
the establishment of a Mission amongst the Creeks, 
received and disbursed considerable sums of money, 



JESSE MERCER. 191 

kept up a correspondence with the General Board, 
and presented to the Association from year to year 
spirited and animating reports of their proceedings, 
and of the general condition of the Cause of missions. 
Mr. Mercer was uniformly appointed as a member of 
this Board, was generally its President, and invaria- 
bly one of its most liberal and efficient supporters. 
In 1820, and 1826, he represented this body ill the 
General Convention. At length the Georgia Associa- 
tion concluded to dispense with the separate agency 
of their Board, and merged their operations in those of 
the State Convention. 

In 1820 a plan for Indian reform was organized 
under the direction of managers appointed by the 
Ocmulgee, Georgia, and Ebenezer Associations. 
These managers were denominated " The Board of 
Trustees of the co-operating Baptist Associations, for 
instructing and evangelizing the Creek Indians.' ' Of 
this Board, which continued in operation some years, 
and at one time had several missionaries in its em- 
ploy, Mr. Mercer was an active member, and for a 
while, the corresponding secretary. 

Mr. Mercer often preached on the subject of mis- 
sions, to his churches, at the anniversary meetings of 
the various associations which he attended, and at 
other convenient times on his numerous excursions 
through the country. Multitudes will long remember 
with what sweetness, pathos and power he would ex- 
patiate upon the last commission of the ascending 
Saviour, and point out the future glories of the Re- 
deemer's kingdom, as delineated on the pages of 
prophecy. Upon many portions of Isaiah he dwelt 
with peculiar delight. A very favorite argument 
with him, was one that he drew from Acts 13 : 47, 



102 MEMOIR* Of 

compared with lsa. 49 : 6. " Notice,' ' says Mr. Mer- 
cer, " the language of Paul and Barnabas after having 
declared that, in consequence of the wilful rejection 
of the word of God by the Jews, they would turn to 
the gentiles, they add, * For so hath the Lord com- 
manded us ; saying, / have set thee to be a light of 
the gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto 
the ends of the earth* Now observe, that what these 
inspired men present to our view in the form of a 
command, we find in Isaiah, from which they quote 
it, in the character of a simple prediction : we have, 
therefore, inspired authority for this inference, that 
old-testament prophecy is neiv-tcstament commands 
Thus we are to regard all the predictions of the 
prophets in relation to the advancement of Christ's 
kingdom, and the salvation of the world, as invested 
with the pow r er and authority of divine commands, re- 
quiring us to labor and pray for their accomplish- 
ment." To one who beheld imbodied in every line 
which exhibited the future triumphs of divine truth, 
the majesty of unalterable law, who heard, as it were, 
the commission of the Saviour, "go ye into all the 
world, and preach the gospel to every creature" burst- 
ing from the lips of every prophet who had spoken of 
the glory of the Messiah's kingdom, the bible must 
have been indeed a missionary book ; and the indi- 
vidual that would act in accordance with such con- 
victions, (and so did our venerable father,) could be 
nothing less than an untiring and zealous defender 
of the missionary cause. 

Strange to tell, there have been many opposers. 
Some of them, Mr. Mercer had reason to fear were 
influenced in their opposition by unworthy motives ; 
but as many honest and pious persons were led astray 



JESSE MERCER. 193 

by the unscriptural arguments, erroneous statements, 
and unhappy examples of their leaders, he did not 
deem it an unworthy or needless service to meet, both 
fr®m the pulpit and from the press, the various cavils 
and pretended arguments which, from time to time, 
had been raised against the missionary enterprise. 
Its opposers, with strange misconception, or as some 
would think, with strange effrontery, claimed for 
themselves the honor of being primitive or old school 
Baptists ! How just and honorable their high claims 
appeared under the scriptural arguments and histori- 
cal facts poured upon them by Mr. Mercer, need not 
here be stated. He that may have seen a millstone 
fall upon the little moth, or the swollen torrent bear- 
ing away upon its wave the trash of a summer stub- 
ble field, can well understand the merits of this con- 
troversy. 

From a series of letters, published in the Index 
early in 1836, for the purpose of meeting the inqui- 
ries of a christian brother, the two following are se- 
lected. They do not seem to be confined to the mis- 
sionary cause exclusively, but embrace the various 
objects of benevolent effort. 

"Dear Brother A. 

" In my last to you, I proposed to make ' the new 
schemes and their tendencies 9 the subject of a future 
reply ; and now I proceed to the performance of it. 
" It is plain, from a review of H.'s inquiries, that 
by ' new movements — new plans — and new schemes 9 he 
intends the various social operations of these days ; 
such as Bible, Missionary, Tract, Sunday School and 
Temperance Societies. These are considered as evil, 
not only in themselves, but because they are new. — 



194 MEMOIRS OP 

Hence, they of the opposition, call themselves ' Old 
School Baptists.'' But such an insinuation indicates 
the belief, not only that the Baptists had, in their ope- 
rations to further, instrumentality, the kingdom of 
Christ in the earth, attained to perfection ; but a la- 
mentable want of scriptural knowledge. I suppose, 
however, the first will not be seriously pretended ; 
and by the latter, it will be shown that the path-way 
of the Lord's people through the wilderness of this 
world, is as the shining light, that shineth more and 
more unto the perfect day; (Prov. 4 : 18); and that 
in the ages to come — the dispensation of the fulness of 
the times, God will make known by the Church, his 
manifold wisdom ; or the exceeding riches of his 
grace by new and increased labors. (Eph. 2:7. 3 : 
10.) There will then be something new constantly 
transpiring. For instance, when the mountain of the 
Lord's house, (or the church,) shall be established in 
the top of the mountains, and all the nations shall 
flow unto it, (Isa. 2 : 2,) there will be something new ! 
And when ' the kingdoms of this world shall become 
the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ ; and his 
dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river 
to the ends of the earth / then will there be some- 
thing n ew ! (Rev. 11 : 15. Zech. 9 : 10.) Moreover, 
when the earth shall be "filled with the knowledge 
and glory of God, then there will be something glo- 
riously new ! (Isa. 11 : 9. Ps. 72 : 19.) 

"Again; when ' Israel (the church,) shall blossom 
and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit,' — 
there will have been done something new. (Isa. 27 : 6.) 
And when the church shall have enlarged the place 
of her habitations, and broke forth on every side, so 
as that her sons shall make the desolate cities of the 



JESSE MERCER. 195 

gentiles to be inhabited by the redeemed of the 
Lord ; there will have been done something glori- 
ously new ! And when the people of the saints of the 
Most High shall take the kingdom and possess it, 
because it shall he given to them, in the greatness 
thereof, under the whole heaven ; then there will have 
been done something wondrously netv ! (Dan. 7 : 18 
— 27.) God declares emphatically, 'Behold, I make 
all things new f' And it must be very evident to any 
sober bible reader that new things will be transpiring 
in every generation of men, until the final consumma- 
tion of all things. And it will be as readily seen, 
that as new dispensations succeed each other, and as 
changing vicissitudes arise, it will be indispensable to 
concert plans of action to suit the exigencies of the 
times and accomplish those things which may be re- 
quisite for the carrying forward of the cause of Christ 
in the earth. It is obvious too, that no community 
can move in concert in the performance of any work, 
hut hy counsel. Solomon says, * Where no counsel is, 
the people fall : and without counsel purposes are 
disappointed : but in the multitude of counsellors 
they are established — there is safety.' (Prov. 11 : 14. 
15 : 22.) If Christ has constituted his people the 
light of the world, and commanded them to let their 
light so shine ; or to make known the riches of his 
grace among all nations for obedience to the faith ; 
and at the same time to wage an interminable war 
with the powers of darkness ; it follows, as a matter 
of necessary consequence, that they must meet in 
Convention, and by wise counsel adopt such plans as 
shall be judged best adapted to effect the objects in 
view. Accordingly, the Apostles assembled at vari- 
ous times, passed resolutions for different purposes ; 



# 



106 MEMOIRS OF 

and finally they in conference assigned to each other 
their sphere of labor in effectuating their Master's 
great command ; ''Go ye into the world and preach 
the gospel to every creature." See Gal. 2 : 6 — 9. 
Those useful schemes or plans of operation, which 
were established in his day, Paul enjoins it on Titu3 
to urge and affirm constantly, that they who have be- 
lieved in God might be careful to maintain good 
works. — And again ; 'Let ours also learn to maintain 
good works for necessary uses, that they be not un- 
fruitful. 1 (Titus 3 : 8, 14.) Now, what are these good 
tvorks, which are to be urged on the observance of the 
brethren with so much care, but those plans or institu- 
tions, which were established as best calculated to pro- 
mote the general interests of the kingdom of Christ, 
and the good of all men ] And what is it to maintain 
tjiese good works, but to give aid and support to them, 
so that the ends proposed may not fail ? But xcithout 
counsel purposes are disap/ ointcd, and the people 
fall! ! If this be true, should not our brethren, who 
oppose in toto, the schemes of benevolence now in 
operation, fear the consequences of their own te- 
merity ! But why do they oppose them 1 Is it be- 
cause they are calculated to do evil ] Is it because 
it is an evil work to supply the unregenerated world 
with the bible — or to endeavor to send the gospel 
by the living preacher (as near as can be come at, 
called of God to the work) to all the nations of the 
earth, that they may be saved, (1 Thes. 2 : 16) — or to 
write pieces on important subjects, and send them 
abroad ; or to direct them to certain individuals — or 
to combine to raise our children in the nurture and 
admonition of the Lord — or to unite to suppress ini- 
quity in any shape ; but especially in that odious and 



JESSE MERCER. 197 

most destructive form— Drunkenness ? Surely not ! J 
Perhaps they will say ' yes ; we will have our 
churches and associations ; but we will have nothing 
to do with these societies.' That is, they will have 
nothing to do in publishing the word of God to the 
world — nothing to do in furnishing a preacher to those 
who sit in the region and shadow of death, that they 
may hear of a precious Saviour, believe and be saved ; 
(Rom. 10 : 11, 15.) nothing to do in giving them any 
means, not even a tract by which they may he saved ; 
(Rom. 11 : 14;) — nothing to do, in having their chil- 
dren taught in the scriptures by suitable teachers in 
Sunday schools — nothing to do in reforming the in- 
temperate, or in making an effort to save a poor de- 
luded and infatuated fellow man from a drunkard's 
grave, and a miserable family from ruin. I ask in the 
name of common sense, — What will they do ? 

" But, pressed for time and perceiving that! shall 
stretch out my reply too long, I beg leave to pause 
here, and make ' the tendencies' the subject of a sepa- 
rate number. 

" I am, dear Brother A., 

" Yours, truly, 

"Jesse Mercer." 

"Dear Brother A. 

" I proceed to consider some of the supposed 
tendencies of the 'new schemes/ patronized in- our 
days. 

" It is asked ' whether they have not uniformly op- 
erated to produce dissatisfaction, and destroy fellow- 
ship ] I think it quite probable they have ever had 
this tendency in a greater or less degree. 

" The new movements of our Lord and his apostles 



198 MEMOIRS OF 

had this tendency. The nature and influence of his 
miracles induced many to become Christ's disciples ; 
but when they heard his doctrine of salvation by grace 
alone, and his requisitions of self-denial and practical 
godliness as indispensable to discipleship ; they were 
offended, and went away and walked no more with 
him. Christ told his disciples not to think that he 
was come into the world l to send peace ; but rather 
division-— a sword. (Matt. 10 : 34. Luke 12 : 51.) 

" But why was all this % Because, not only that 
the unregenerate heart of proud man, could not sub- 
mit to his doctrine of the neiv birth ; but also many 
of the religious Jews, however pious, were not pre- 
pared to admit his * new measures ; and therefore op- 
posed them, they being of the old Mosaic school. 
And we find that the same spirit of opposition to the 
new schemes and movements of the apostles, to carry 
out the commands of their Lord, to establish his king- 
dom in all the world, was ever and anon stirring up 
strife and exciting contentions and divisions amongst 
the churches. Although the prophets had before de- 
clared that the name of the Lord should be made 
known in all the earth, by the rising of Zion, to whose 
lifrht the Gentiles should come, and kin^s to the 
brightness of her rising ; (See Isa. chapters 42 and 
60) and Christ had in accordance therewith, com- 
manded his disciples to preach his gospel to the ends 
of the earth; yet, such was their overweening pre- 
possessions in favor of Judaism, that they strenuously 
opposed every attempt to preach the gospel to the 
heathen that they might be saved. For instance ; 
even Peter was so prejudiced against going to the 
Gentiles, though his Lord and Master had commanded 
him (with the rest) to go into all the world and preach 



JESSE MERCER. 199 

the gospel to every creature, that a vision from heaven 
must descend to convince him of his duty ; and when 
by this extraordinary occurrence, he was constrained 
to go, on his return to Jerusalem, his brethren called 
him to a severe account for it. 

" Now it is quite evident that the apostles called a 
convention, and held a conference on this subject, 
(Gal. 2 : 6, 9 ;) and when they perceived that it was 
the will of God, and that he had called Paul and Bar- 
nabas to that work, (a fact not to be overlooked,) they 
gave them the right hand of fellowship that they 
should go unto the heathen ; not only as a token of 
approbation but of confirmation. Nevertheless, there 
was opposition still. For while Paul was at Ephe- 
sus, he says (1 Cor. 16 : 9,) l a great door and effectual 
is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries. 9 
And in Thessalonica the Jews rose up fordidding the 
apostles to preach to the Gentiles, that they might be 
saved. (1 Thes. 2 : 16.) And still more pertinent — 
There were certain brethren, who went among the 
Gentiles for Christ's sake, taking nothing of them for 
their support ; whom Gaius had received and relieved. 
For this act of benevolence, Gaius is commended very 
highly by the Apostle John (3 John;) and then he 
adds, ' We therefore, ought to receive such, that we 
might he fellow-helpers to the truth.'' Receive such, 
How ? but as Gaius had done ; affording them that 
support, they had refused to take of the Gentiles ; or 
else how should we, in receiving them, be fellow-help- 
ers to the truth, in their ministry ] The apostle wrote 
to the church on this account, no doubt stirring them 
up to this duty. But there was one Diotrcphcs, who 
loved to have the pre-eminence among them, received 
not the apostle, in this apostolic letter, nor these mis- 



200 MEMOIRS OP 

sionary brethren, and forbade them that would have 
received them, and cast them out of the church. How 
picturesque ! How often has this high handed oppo- 
sition been acted out in more modern times % How 
many letters and other writings on missionary sub- 
jects, have been refused a reading, and thrown under 
the table 1 How many of the brethren, of the effort 
cast, have been refused the use of meeting houses, 
and cast out ; or excommunicated as far as practica- 
ble, by declarations of non-fellowship, &c. ? All such, 
I take to be of the household of Diotrephes. How- 
ever, I cannot envy their pre-eminence arising from 
this relationship ; but rather give me an humble con- 
nexion with the excellent Demetrius. 

" But do the preachers, who are opposed to these 
new plans, preach the same doctrine that Abraham 
Marshall and Silas Mercer did ? I presume they do, 
essentially preach the same doctrine, with this shade 
of difference ; they are more generally on the doctrine 
of the covenant and predestination, and less practical. 
But I believe the soundness of their faith has never 
been called in question. But do the advocates of 
these ' new movements' 1 believe and preach as did those 
able ministers of the New Testament ] I think they 
suhstantially do. With this difference ; they do not 
preach as controversially as some of those venerable 
ministers did, because there is not the same cause for it 
now, as in their day, when the fundamental principles 
of the Baptist faith were assailed, by all the force of the 
Arminian host. But do you preach as you used to do 1 
This question I have answered several times in the 
Index ; and if it was not believed then, why is it asked 
again ] But for the sake of those who may not have 
given themselves the trouble to read heretofore ; or 



JESSE MERCER. 201 

Who may not have noticed it, I repeat, that I have 
undergone no fundamental change in faith from my 
forefathers. I believe now, and always preach in per- 
fect accordance with the faith adopted by the Georgia 
Association, and from her (so far as I am informed) 
the other Associations in the state. But is not the 
preaching of those who advocate the new 'plans, too 
practical, too Arminian ? I do not think so. I speak 
as to the great body of those who are the advocates 
of the benevolent operations of our day. Of individ- 
uals I cannot say any thing. By far the great major- 
ity of those engaged in benevolent efforts are strictly 
Calvinistic. I use this word in its common accepta- 
tion. Those professedly Arminian are far in the rear 
of the Calvinists in those operations. And I suspect 
the idea, that the patronising of the benevolent insti- 
tutions tends in the least to arminianism, has been 
gotten up from some isolated cases, of persons being 
suspected of arminianism, being very active in advo- 
cating these measures ; and not from any solid ground. 
" It seems to be taken for granted that all those 
venerable fathers, who founded the Baptist denomi- 
nation in this state, were as stern calvinistic preachers 
as are the opposers of the new ]?lans. But this is alto- 
gether a mistake. Some of them were so—seemed 
to be set for the defence of the gospel. Of these, Si- 
las Mercer and Jeptha Vining were the chief. Abra- 
ham Marshall was never considered a prcdcstinarian 
preacher. To use his own figure ; he used to say, 
4 he was short legged and could not wade in such deep 
water.' He, with several others, was considered 
sound in the faith, though low Calvinists. Peter Smith 
and some others were thought rather Arminian ; some 
quite so. But no division was thought of till J eremiah 
10 



202 MEMOIRS 01 

Walker adopted and preached openly the doctrine of 
final apostacy. Then a division ensued ; but soon 
after the death of Mr. W., the breach was healed. 
And here it may not be amiss to add, that the Baptists 
in the upper parts of South Carolina, in those days, 
comprehended mostly, it is believed, in the Bethel 
Association, were general provisionists. I think the 
most of their ministers preached what is now called 
General Atonement. But this was never thought of 
as a bar to correspondence, or even Christian commu- 
nion. "Well, then, if there is no fundamental differ- 
ence between the opposers and the advocates of the 
new plans, why not unite J I know of no substantial 
reason why they should not. I believe the friends of 
benevolent societies have never agitated or even 
wished a division with their brethren on account of 
their not seeing proper to patronise these societies. 
And I am not able to see any thing in these benevo- 
lent Institutions which can justify their opposers to 
declare non-fellowship with their advocates. Nor do 
I believe that any will pretend that these operations 
are wicked in themselves ; but when they condemn 
the promoters of them, it is by censoring their motives 
or designs, so as to make them wicked. But as in 
doing this, they break one of the laws of Christ, they 
must account for it at his bar. 

M Is there no way for the Baptists to come together 
and be united ? I think there is. ' Let them love as 
brethren : and not judge one another any more, but 
judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block, 
or an occasion to fall, in his brother's way' But how 
would a convention of all the churches do ? If such 
a conference, or a meeting of the principal ministers, 
could be had xn the spirit of meekness, I should hope 



3ESSB MERCER. 203 

Xl might have a good effect. At least it would be 
worth the trial. But this has been already proposed, 
<again and again, and nothing has keen done / 

" In conclusion, I say for myself, that it appears as 
if the Lord had in his righteous displeasure, shut us 
■up in prison houses, so that we cannot come forth ; 
or has mixed a perverse spirit in us, because lie will 
destroy us. It is high time we should humble our- 
selves under his mighty hand, and beseech him to 
take away from us ^m evil heart of unbelief ] and put 
into us a right spirit. Let all who have hearts to do 
so, remember the first Thursday in April next, the 
-day set apart by the Georgia Association, iand con- 
curred in by the Sarepta, as a day to afflict our souls 
on this very occasion, and implore of the Lord his re- 
storing mercy and cheering grace. 

" u In hope of better times by the Grace of Ood, 
*? I am, dear Brother, yours, in 

*" Christ Jesus our Lord, 

"Jesse Mercer. 5 * 

Mr. Mercer watched the progress of our Foreign 
Missionary operations with the liveliest interest, held 
frequent correspondence with the leading members 
of the Board, of which he was the honored President 
from 1830, till the meeting of the Triennial Conven- 
tion in 1841, and into whose treasury he poured his 
bounty with an unsparing hand. 

A letter addressed to Br. Shuck, of the 'Chinese 
Mission, through the columns of the Index, may be 
properly introduced in this place. 



204 MEMOIRS Oi 

" Washington. Ga. April C, I33& 
"Dear Brother Shuck, 

" ' As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good 
news from a far country : r so your very kind letter 
from Macao, (China,) refreshed and comforted my 
spirit. I hastened to lay it before the readers of the 
Christian Index, and suppose a few words in reply 
will not be less acceptable through the same medium 
to you, and may be gratifying to them. Truly the 
short ■ acquaintance and intercourse' had at Rich- 
mond, (Va.,) were pleasant and interesting, and lefs 
an impression on my mind, which has led me to read 
in the Religious Herald all the communications from 
you with particular interest. It was peculiarly en- 
gaging to my feelings to witness with what devoted- 
ness and disinterested zeal, you and others appeared 
before the Board of Missions to make known the im- 
pressions which had led you to the conclusion, that it 
was your duty, from the Lord, to engage in the min- 
istry ; and especially those, which disposed you to a 
foreign field, where you might ' preach among the 
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.' And this 
you did, without ashing or receiving a promise of one 
jot or tittle of earthly emolument. All you asked, 
and all you received, was the approval of the Board, 
and a promise of aid and'.support 1 

" It is truly a consideration which ' affords no small 
gratification to know' that through the providence of 
God, oceans and continents have made us antipodes, 
yet we ' can meet at a common Mercy Seat,' and there 
enjoy ' intercourse and commune with each other iii 
prayer,' and by writing those things, which the grace 
of God has wrought by and in us, for the furtherance 



JESSE MERCER. 505 

of bis cause on earth, and which lead ' the soul In holy 
contemplation towards the brighter developments of 
celestial bliss,' where personal intercourse and enjoy- 
ment will be uninterrupted and eternal. 

" I consider it an amazing wonder, my dear brother, 
* a consideration of overwhelming and painful interest, 
that while the hearts of so many thousands in Ameri- 
ca, (and other Christian countries,) beat high with a 
Christian's joy, and swell with a Christian's hope/ so 
little is felt for the millions (of China and other na- 
tions) who are sitting in the regions and shadows of 
death, and perishing for the lack of knowledge ! If, 
that ' some (men) had not the knowledge of God/ was 
spoken to the shame of Christians in Paul's day, what 
must be spoken of Christians in these days ! O, when 
will Christians wake up to the importance of ' keep- 
ing the commandments of God !' And it is still of 
more amazing and painful concern, that so many pro- 
fessed Christians, like the Jews in Paul's time, rise 
up 'forbidding us to preach (the gospel) to the Gen- 
tiles, that they may be saved/ 

" I agree with you, that every church should act as 
a missionary society, and that if, at the concert meet- 
ings, some one or two of the members would prepare 
themselves to make some brief remarks relative to 
some case, history, or interesting incident of the mis- 
sionaries, it would give a ' heightened interest' to those 
meetings, and to the cause of missions generally. It 
would also excite attention to the history of mission- 
ary operations as they transpire. We need very 
much in our denomination an increased taste for read- 
ing. Any thing which would tend to increase this 
desire, would benefit the cause, by developing and 
rendering familiar, the labors, difficulties, and situa- 



206 MEMOIRS or 

Irons of the Missionaries ; and doubtless, at the same 
time enforce the moral and personal obligations of* 
giving the gospel to the Pagan world. 

" I rejoice that the prospects before you were en- 
couraging — that you have made such progress in the 
acquisition of the language, as to be able to write a 
tract in Chinese, which was soon to be published. I 
have great hope, by the grace of God, on the circula- 
tion of tracts. They are silent and unobtrusive, and 
will get admission where a Missionary would be re- 
jected. I am happy also to learn that ' the Portu- 
guese government has somewhat altered its policy/ 
so that Missionaries can now reside in any of the pre- 
cincts of the ' Celestial Empire/ Those parts where 
the prohibitory laws of the Emperor cannot affect the 
cause are so extensive, that if the word of the Lord 
should take deep root in them it would easily spread 
into the interior. But why speak in this casual strain ? 
He who touches the mountains and they smoke, and 
the hills and they skip, can say to the haughty and 
imperial Throne of China, * be thou removed,' and it 
shall vanish away like smoke, or yield obedience at 
once to the King of nations ! 

"I am acquainted with Brother I. J. Roberts. 
While I wish him all grace and success in his under- 
takings, I can but regret his isolated condition. If 
the Board should make Macao a permanent station, 
(and under existing circumstances I see no reason 
why they should not,) I trust you may find in him a 
true yoke-fellow in the great cause of evangelizing 
(by the blessing of God on your labors) the Chinese > 
and bringing them to the obedience of faith. 

" As to sending you more laborers from Georgia, it 
would rejoice my heart to see many young men rising 






JESSE MERCER. 207 

up, like the zealous and devoted Isaiah, and saying to 
the call of God, each for himself, ' Here am I — send, 
me P But alas ! we have a great deficiency of pious, 
devoted, and faithful ministers in this state, and there 
seems little spirit of prayer in the churches, to the 
Lord of the harvest, that he would send laborers into 
his harvest, which is truly large. 

" It will give me pleasure to send you, my brother, 
any thing — Minutes, and the Index, which may afford 
you and those with you, any consolation or strength. 

" With Sister S. I have no acquaintance, but what 
I have gained from her letters, &c. — but it has been 
quite sufficient to give her an interest in my best 
wishes for her happiness and prosperity in the great 
enterprise in which she has, as your help meet, en- 
gaged. My most sincere gratulations to her and Bro- 
ther Roberts. Ma%grace, mercy, and peace be with 
you all, and give you success, is the prayer of one who 
is deeply interested in the Missionary enterprise. 

" Jesse Mercer." 

The movements of the Abolitionists, which at one 
time seemed to threaten the disruption of the north 
and south, gave him much concern. He looked upon 
the separation of the denomination as a result greatly 
to be deplored, inasmuch as it must necessarily em- 
barrass, to a fearful extent, our foreign missionary op- 
erations, and portend great evils to our common coun- 
try. In a letter to Mr. Bolles, he expresses his senti- 
ments on this exciting subject with great candor and 
freedom. 



208 MEMOIRS OF 

" Washington, Oct. 2]st, 1840. 
"Mr Dear Brother Bolles, 

" Yours from Philadelphia was duly received, 
and I was gratified in reading its contents. I have 
also received an address to the missionaiies, the sen- 
timents of which I approve. I have all along intend- 
ed to write, but continued and increased affliction has 
led to procrastination ; and so it is, I have not under- 
taken it till now. But now it seems to be imperious 
on me to speak. The address of the Anti-slavery 
Convention held in New- York last spring, with E. G. 
as president signed to it, and certain copies of the 
Reflector, have been sent to almost all our ministers 
and pastors of churches, and other prominent persons 
among us, and, I suppose, through all the Southern 
States ; and have acted as firebrands through all 
our parts. Our abolition brethren are exceedingly 
mistaken in the case they have undertaken to reme- 
dy; and therefore, their measures can only operate a 
bad influence ; and the tendency will inevitably be to 
break up all our united operations, and, I seriously 
fear, our civil union also. They ought to consider 
that the institution of slavery is a civil and not an ec- 
clesiastical one ; and that it is not one of our (the 
present owners') making ; that we, as a slaveholding 
people, are mostly the inheritors of them from our 
forefathers — that they came into possession under the 
prejudice of early education. We have been taught 
from our cradles that they were our money, that we 
had a right or title to them. This has grown with 
our growth, and strengthened with our riper years. 
Now be this right or wrong, it ought to be kept in 
mind that this prejudice is not to be removed by any 



JESSE MERCER. 209 

immediate cause, nor by hard words, or by arbitrary 
condemnation. These can only excite to a fiery re- 
sistance, and, of course, rivet the chains of the preju- 
dice (above stated) the tighter, and strengthen them 
by the influence of that interest which blinds the judg- 
ment. The terms on which the address proposes the 
continuance of christian fellowship are altogether im- 
practical. If we would, we cannot comply. We 
are, as a community, both classes, as a tangled hank, 
so tangled that we cannot be severed in the way pro- 
posed. We have no alternative, therefore, but to 
yield to their sentence (bull) of excommunication. I 
suppose before you receive this, you will have re- 
ceived an address from the Executive Committee of 
our Convention, (a copy of whieh has been sent me,) 
on this vexatious subject. I exceedingly regret the 
necessity of this movement in our Board, but under 
the circumstances, I must justify them in it. I was 
not able to attend our session of the Association, nor 
the meeting of the Executive Committee. I too re- 
gret the alternative to which the present crisis sub- 
jects the acting members of the Board of Foreign 
Missions. They must disavow any connexion with or 
approval of the ultra movements of the Abolitionists 
or lose the southern interest in the Foreign Mission 
cause. Our people talk of a southern Board ; but 
that to me is just equal to an entire separation from 
the cause itself. The Board will have to look to the 
north and northwest for its supplies, and the south 
will cease to do any thing, or turn their benefactions 
some other way. * * * * 

"Dear brethren, we have fallen on stony places, 
and some of us will be sorely tried. A few, with 
myself, would prefer to continue our union and co- 

10* 



210 MEMOIRS OF 

operation, Abolitionism notwithstanding; but what 
can the few do against the many ? The; consequences 
of a dissolution of our missionary co-operation will 
be deleterious, if not ruinous. We must reflect on 
our obligations to our missionaries. This obligation 
is of the most serious character, and ought not to be 
broken without paramount considerations. But I 
leave all these things to be digested by your wisdom 
and prudence. 

" I have written the above with considerable pain, 
and must ask the prayers of the Board to God for me 
and wife, who is paralytic both in body and mind, that 
we may be able to endure as beholding him that is 
invisible, ready to help. With sentiments of affec- 
tionate regard, 

" I am, dear brethren, yours in the kingdom and 
patience of Jesus Christ. 

"Jesse Mercer." 

A short time before the meeting of the General 
Convention in 1841, he thus speaks upon the same 
subject through the columns of the Christian Index. 

" I am of opinion we are making quite too much 
of their puffings and loud noise. If they are dis- 
posed to roar, let them roar on, unheeded by us \ for 
to be disquieted and alarmed is just what they want — 
the more they can disturb and discompose us, the bet- 
ter they will be pleased. Now let us care as little 
about all their ' sound of words' as a company of 
shepherds would the howlings of wolves on the op- 
posite side of an impassable river. Let them alone, 
and their long and their loud soundings will die harm- 
less, in the distance. 



JESSE MERCER. 211 

" It may be asked what shall we do in this distress- 
ing case 1 I give as my advice, to sacrifice feeling to 
principle, and hold on. To continue the union of the 
present effort in the General Convention, to me is pal- 
pable and all important. A division of the southern 
brethren from the northern, would, in my view, be 
deleterious, if not totally ruinous to the. whole con- 
cern. Some talk of a Southern Board, but this to me 
is visionary and futile. We have no southern inter- 
course with India, and should have to send our funds 
through the same channel they now go, and that 
would defeat the very object for which a Southern 
Board would be gotten up. I see no way that a 
Southern Board could support missionaries in Bur- 
mah, or other places in the East, without trusting their 
funds to northern conveyances, and whom would they 
sooner trust than the present tried members of the 
Board of Missions ? I hope our southern brethren 
will never think of it. 

" But before I close this article, I must say some- 
thing about the approaching Triennial Convention. 
Many North and South, are looking to that meeting 
with great expectation. Well; I hope something 
will be done then, tending to settle the agitations 
which now threaten the dissolution of the missionary 
compact. For myself, it is my settled conviction, 
that to pretend to investigate the right or the wrong, 
the merits or the demerits of slavery, would be worse 
than folly. Who can amuse himself with the idea, 
that that question could be decided in a public con- 
troversy ] Nothing could be the result but ' strifes of 
words, whereof cometh envy and perverse disputings 
of men bf corrupt minds.' I think nobody, North or 
South, on mature reflection, can desire such a dis- 



212 MEMOIRS OF 

pute, except Abolitionists, and I suppose it would be 
marrow and fatness to their souls. Something, how- 
ever, should be done in that meeting to harmonize the 
feelings of the South, and to direct the energies of all 
united in the missionary enterprise, in one sacred effort 
to send the gospel to the heathen. I cannot persuade 
myself, but that there will be a great majority of 
those who shall form that body, that will have no 
hesitancy to unite in the sentiment, that for any Bap- 
tist minister or set of ministers, however large, to 
judge and condemn others, unheard, as guilty of most 
base crimes, and to pass resolutions of disfellowship 
in relation to brethren over whom they have no dis- 
ciplinary jurisdiction, is undenominational and con- 
trary to the plain dictates of the w r ord of God; and 
therefore, not to be tolerated in any belonging to the 
Convention, much less any member or members of 
the Board itself." 

Mr. Mercer had enjoyed an opportunity of culti- 
vating considerable acquaintance with his northern 
brethren, and though he most decidedly condemned 
the course of a few unreasonable and erratic men, yet 
he placed a high estimate upon the prudence, piety, 
and zeal of the great body, and especially of the more 
prominent individuals concerned in the management 
of our missionary affairs. There are some who will, 
no doubt, recollect the ingenious, and yet kind and 
paternal manner in which, at one of the meetings of 
the State Convention, he softened down a discussion 
in which there had been thrown out some rather un- 
kind intimations against the brethren of the north. 
The following is about the substance of his remarks. 
" Brethren, allow me just here as I am sitting, to 



JESSE MERCER. 213 

relate a little anecdote i though it has something to 
do with myself, yet I hope you will nevertheless ex- 
cuse it. In my younger days, and when I was also 
young in the ministry, I had occasion to pay a visit to 
Charleston, S. C. I went to the place with many pre- 
judices against the brethren in that place, taking it for 
granted, that as they lived in a large city, they were a 
proud, formal, fashionable people, and had very little 
religion. I did not expect to be pleased with them. 
But after a few days intercourse with them, I found 
them a very kind, humble, spiritual people ; and I 
left them with the conviction that they had a great 
deal more religion than I had. Now in regard to 
our northern brethren, let me say I have been with 
them, and have had an opportunity of judging of 
their spirit ; and brethren, they are a better people than 
we are" If this disposition to lie at our brethren's 
feet, and to esteem others better than ourselves, were 
universally prevalent, how much bitterness, jealousy 
and strife would be banished from the church of 
Christ. 

The following brief notes on Matt. 28 : 19 ; " Go ye 
therefore and teach all nations" were found among 
Mr. Mercer's manuscripts, and may serve as a speci- 
men of his longest skeletons of sermons, of which, 
however, he prepared but very few. 

" The gospel is of God. Its glorious design trav- 
ails with infinite benignity to the praise of his grace 
in the salvation of men. It exhibits a system of 
means, reserving the efficient cause to God alone. 
The humble beneficiaries are constituted its instru- 
ments. It is of grace they are so. A failure of suc- 
cess in their labors, admits of no discouragement. 



214 MEMOIRS OP 

They have received more than they have rendered 
back; and their Lord was ever beforehand with them, 
and they were originally unworthy. Privilege never 
comes alone ; it is always accompanied by obligation. 
God gives something in the privilege, which he never 
fails to require again, according to his own wisdom 
and counsel. Hence the vows of God are upon us. 
' Where the word of a king is, there is power.' And 
this power must be felt when Jehovah-Jesus speaks. 
When He who has all power in heaven and earth 
commands, c go ye therefore, and teach all nations,' 
who will be inattentive, or disregard his authority ? 

" My brethren, let us spend a little time in contem- 
plating the command of God to teach the nations. 

"I. Whose duty it is. 

" II. What it involves ; and 

" III. The ground of encouragement to those who 
are making one sacred effort to obey the command. — 
And 

" I. Whose duty it is. 

" The eleven were present only ; but it could not 
have been restricted to them, for then the ministry 
would have ceased with them. Christ says of him- 
self, ' I am the light of the world as long as I am in it.' 
If then the command rested with them, both the work 
and the authority for it must have ended with them, 
and the world is now wrapt in moral and spiritual 
night ! But they must have been the representatives 
of all ministers of Christ till the end of the world. 

" In proof of this. The commission itself extend- 
ing to the end of time. The mode of expression by 
Mark, and the manner of Christ's addressing in rela- 
tion to the end of the world, and of his second com- 
ing, and how they ought to be found of him, are in 



JESSE MERCER. 215 

point. Also the apostolic rule of expounding proph- 
ecy to be command. 

" They must also have been the constituents of the 
Gospel church. In proof of this, what Christ says of 
them in his sermon, and the figurative illustration he 
gives of them and their duty, answering only to the 
church of Christ, is in evidence. But if the prophe- 
cies are commands, then the question is at rest for 
ever. It is the church's duty, including all, not with- 
out ministers, to teach the nations. The church is the 
pillar and ground of the truth, &c. The prophecies 
being commands, taken together with the examples of 
the first churches, will show that the duty of teaching 
the nations lies on the church and ministers. 

" II. What it involves. 

" 1. The publication of the scriptures. In proof 
of this, urge the example and command of God — the 
prophetic declarations in Isa. 2:3. 4 : 12. 42 : 4. 
49 : 22. 62 : 10. 

" 2. The translation of the scriptures. The rea- 
sonableness and necessity of it. The giving of tongues 
and ceasing of them — the choice of the Apostles to 
publish the New Testament in the Greek, being the 
most popular language then in the world ; and Paul's 
sentiment for plain words. 

" 3. The sending of men to teach them. The ap- 
pointment of the Prophets and Apostles is sufficient 
to prove this point. But Ps. 68 : 11. Dan. 12 : 4. It 
is declared in Isa. 66 : 19. Ps. 45 : 16. Isa. 60 : IK 

" 4. The use of money, and a great deal of it. The 
service of God in Israel required a great deal of mon- 
ey, &c. The prophecies show that presents and gifts 
should be brought unto Zion for the service of God, 
and the first churches did abound in liberalities, &rc. 



216 MEMOIRS OF 

u III. The encouragement afforded 

" Lies in the commander's having all power in heav- 
en and earth, whereby the free use of all means, the 
employment of men and angels, and the fulfilment of 
all the promises are sure. 

" Inferences. 

" 1. The propriety of being ready for the work. 

" 2. Unity in the effort — and 

" 3. Courage and strength in the work." 

The following piece originally published in an April 
number of the Christian Index, 1832, when edited by 
brother W. T. Brantly, in Philadelphia, may here be 
allowed a place as a kind of appendix to this chapter, 
since it has some bearing upon the missionary cause. 
As it embraced some topics of a different character, 
the biographer did not think best to break the con- 
nexion of the preceding portions of the chapter, by 
inserting it in its proper chronological order. It re- 
fers to the unhappy affair of Messrs. Worcester and 
Butler, missionaries of the American Board of Com- 
missioners for Foreign Missions, who, refusing to sub- 
mit to the laws of Georgia when the state saw fit to 
extend her jurisdiction over the Cherokees, had been 
arrested by the civil authorities, and confined in the 
penitentiary. Many distorted and erroneous repre- 
sentations of the occurrence were circulated far and 
wide to the injury of the reputation of the state ; 
and some respectable Baptist publications (without 
any evil purpose, it is presumed,) assisted in giving 
them currency. The design of this communication 
was to present the subject in its proper light, and to 
aid in allaying the ferment of the public mind. If it 
failed in fully exonerating the authorities of the state 



JESSE MERCER. 217 

from blame in the view of all, it showed clearly that 
they had been greatly misrepresented, and that the 
character of Georgia had found a very able and zeal- 
ous advocate in the person of Mr. Mercer. The wri- 
ter believes he is correct in stating that the offensive 
piece complained of by brother Mercer, which ap- 
peared in the Baptist Magazine, was not published by 
the sanction of the Board. In a manner worthy of 
all commendation, that highly respectable and efficient 
body have ever kept themselves aloof from all mat- 
ters irrelevant to the one great object for which they 
were appointed, the superintendence of our Foreign 
Missionary work. 

" Imprisonment of tlie Missionaries to the Cherokees" 

44 Brother Brantly, 

" In regard to this subject, the editors of periodi- 
cals seem to me to have made themselves busy-bodies 
in other men's matters, understanding neither what 
they say, nor whereof they affirm. It is truly to be 
regretted that such an event should have ever trans- 
pired. But before Georgia should be criminated, it 
ought to be demonstrated to be the legitimate result 
of her laws ; and not the sheer consequence of insub- 
ordinate feelings, and unloyal conduct in the mission- 
aries towards them. 

" The right of Georgia to extend her government 
over that part of her state which was in the occupan- 
cy of the Cherokees, I do not pretend to determine ; 
and it seems to come with a very ill grace, from any 
individual, unhesitatingly to denounce the judicial 
proceedings of a sovereign state, as l unconstitutional, 
unjust and wicked.' But it may, however, be asked, 



21S MEMOIRS OF 

what right that was which Georgia conveyed to the 
United States by the cession of 1802 ? And whether 
the United States did not take jurisdiction over the 
territory ceded, and all the Indian tribes therein, by 
virtue of said contract ? If so, then it was always 
right in Georgia to exercise the same jurisdiction 
within that part of her territory not so ceded ; and 
the United States could constitutionally have no con- 
trol over it but by her consent. Under this consent, 
impliedly yielded, the United States have had a gov- 
ernmental agency over the Cherokees, till they at- 
tempted the establishment of an independent, national 
government within the limits of Georgia. Now it is 
believed no state would look on such a government 
rising up within her bounds, with approbation. Geor- 
gia did not approve of it, and has resisted it. And 
who can blame her] 

" They who know any thing of the affairs of the 
Cherokee country, as it lies under the agency of the 
United States, know that no white person (except he 
belong to the nation,) was permitted to reside among 
the Indians, without a license both from the United 
States and the Indians ; and that yet intruders were 
constantly insinuating themselves among them ; not 
only to serve themselves of the Indians, but to eat the 
fat of the land ; and that the United States' troops 
had frequently to scour the country and drive them 
out. It became Georgia, therefore, in taking the 
government of her territory, to act on the same prin- 
ciple, and to see that no white person (not otherwise 
authorized,) should reside therein, who was either 
disposed to gratify his own licentious interests, or was 
inimical to her cause. This was necessary, both for 
the safety of the Indians, and the good of the state. 



JESSE MERCER. 219 

It was therefore provided by law, that after a given 
time, all white persons residing among the Indians 
within her jurisdiction, (United States' and states' 
agents, persons renting improvements of Indians 
emigrated west of the Mississippi, all females and 
children excepted,) should have obtained a license or 
permit from the governor or his agent, for that pur- 
pose ; and have subscribed the following oath : ' I, 
A. B., do solemnly swear (or affirm as the case may 
be,) that I will support and defend the constitution 
and laws of the state of Georgia, and uprightly de- 
mean myself as a citizen thereof, so help me God •* 
or on failure thereof, should be deemed ' guilty of an 
high misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall 
be punished by confinement in the penitentiary at 
hard labor, for a term not less than four years.' This 
is the obnoxious law, to which the missionaries not 
yielding, as pious christians should, a quiet submis- 
sion, but opposing their resistance, have fallen under 
its penalty, and are imprisoned in the penitentiary. 
But, brother Editor, what can there be in this law, 
so offensive to these missionaries 1 Its requirements 
bind them to do nothing but what all good men are 
morally bound to do ; and to which all the disinte- 
rested motives inducing these men to engage in the 
missionary enterprise, should have influenced them 
to yield a ready compliance ; not only because the 
law of God requires it, but because the very constitu- 
tion and laws they would thereby bind themselves to 
support, do guarantee to, and defend them in * the in- 
estimable privilege of worshipping God in a manner 
agreeable to their own conscience.' Thus it will ap- 
pear, these men were only required to support the 
laws, which in turn would have supported them in 



220 MEMOIRS OP 

their missionary labors. Why then resist them 1 And 

why is Georgia denounced as highly criminal in this 

affair, even by christian editors ] 

" I have seen in the ' Pioneer' of the West, some 

harsh and even cruel things on this subject,, which 

would have better suited an infidel paper. I had 

thought the editor, a brother of more candor, and dis- 
cs ' 7 

passionate argument. 

" But, more than all, I have sickened at reading a 
piece, under the above caption, in the ' American Bap- 
tist Magazine.' The publishers are men of undoubted 
worth, deep ^nd liberal piety. And it is the more to 
be regretted, that they should have been led to publish 
this libel on Georgia, so derogatory to the genius and 
objects of the Magazine ; but especially as they had 
its refutation, not merely within their reach, but in 
their very grasp ! It would have been less painful if 
they had no missionary in the same territory, and sub- 
jected to the same laws ; but he promptly met the 
requirements, and so far from sinking, he stands high- 
er in the estimation of all parties ; so that they had a 
practical demonstration, under their own patronage, 
that the evil complained of was neither in the design, 
laws, nor administration of Georgia ; else their Mis- 
sionary would have been imprisoned too ! 

" They say, ' the periodical publications have fur- 
nished the disgraceful fact, that Dr. Butler and Mr. 
Worcester, Missionaries among the Cherokees, have 
been sentenced to the penitentiary in Georgia, for re- 
siding among the Indians.' This is part true, but to 
a stranger it conveys what is not true. These men 
were not sentenced to the penitentiary, merely for re- 
siding among the Indians ; but for residing within the 
jurisdiction of Georgia, in defiance of her laws : but 



JESSE MERCER. 221 

whether this is a disgraceful fact to Georgia remains 
to be proved. If, however, it is wicked in a state to 
execute her laws, and cause them to be respected 
within her own bounds- — if Missionaries, as such, are 
unaccountable to any laws, human or divine, and if it 
is virtuous in them to despise dominion and speak 
evil of dignities, then it is a disgraceful fact, that Geor- 
gia has reduced them ; but if otherwise, then these 
nominal Missionaries are suffering only the reward of 
their own temerity ! 

" The managers of the Magazine have adverted to 
* the imprisonment of Mr. Judson, in Burmah, and of 
John Bunyan, in England/ as analagous, it should 
seem, not only the more to disgrace Georgia, but to 
' arouse feeling of the most decisive disapprobation in 
the breasts of every Christian and patriot,' against 
her. But is there any parity in the cases 1 Is the 
government of Georgia a despotic barbarism] Has 
she made any laws ' forbidding ministers to preach 
the gospel/ or to prevent Missionaries • remaining on 
the Indian lands, and exercising their missionary func- 
tions ] If she has, the fact is disgraceful ; but, if not, 
then they should have remembered what that means — 
I will have mercy and not sacrifice. 

" But they further say, ! perhaps no event has oc- 
curred in the country, which has excited greater sur- 
prise and displeasure among good men, than the de- 
grading manner in which the Missionaries of the cross 
have been arrested, conducted in chains to trial, and 
consigned to the penitentiary/ But it remains to be 
proved, that these professed ' Missionaries of the 
cross* received any mal-treatment — especially that 
they were 'conducted in chains to trial/ as the con- 
ducting officer assures me, there never was a chain 



222 MEMOIRS OF 

on them, except while in bed, and that only for safe- 
keeping, as the other prisoners were. 

" The managers seem to take for granted what is 
not true, and therefore have been led into error ; that 
is, that Georgia has passed laws forbidding missionary 
operations among the Indians ; and have condemned 
these men as Missionaries. But no such laws exist, 
nor has any judicial proceeding been had with these 
men, in any other character than white men, offend- 
ing against her laws. Georgia regrets, we all regret, 
that they were Missionaries. 

" Since writing the above, I have been informed, 
that the Supreme Court of the United States, (or a 
majority of the Judges presiding,) have sustained the 
writ of error against Georgia, and decreed that the 
sentence of the Superior Court here should be re- 
versed, and the prisoners released. But this decree 
makes the case neither better nor worse in a moral 
point of view : circumstantially, it may make it a great 
deal worse. It will be viewed in Georgia as an in- 
terference with her internal rights, which has no con- 
stitutional basis ; nay, as a direct infringement of her 
constitutional right, and an infraction of her sovereign- 
ty within her own judicial bounds. As the Governor 
and Legislature of Georgia considered the writ nuga- 
tory, and confiding in the wisdom and justice of the 
Supreme Court, determined not to appear in the case, 
it is probable her Judges will pay as little attention to 
the decree. If so, and it should be attempted to be 
enforced, none need be surprised, should it prove the 
scissors that clips the cord that binds our union, and 
the pen that writes Ichabod on it for ever. 

" Dear brother, I tremble while I write, at the pros- 
pect before us. I have always been an unionist, and 



jfcSSE MERGER. 223 

have resisted all ideas of dissolution as desperate. 
But when I hear Solomon say, ' Surely oppression 
maketh a wise man mad;' and James, 'Behold how 
great a matter a little fire kindleth ;' I can but fear 
the signs of these times ! I hope, however, that there 
may yet be * a redeeming spirit' in the United States, 
■ and that she may adopt a course, which may allay 
the just excitement which exists in the public mind' 
of Georgia, and preserve our beloved Union. Our 
last, and only sure resort, however, is— 

' God is our refuge in distress, 
A present help when dangers press ; 

In him undaunted we'll confide; 
Though earth were from her centre tost> 
And mountains in the ocean lost, 

Torn piece-meal by the roaring tide.' 

" Jesse Mercer.'' 



CHAPTER X. 



Mr. Mercer and the Temperance Cause. — At first stands aloof.— 
His reasons for this in a letter to Mr. Brandy. — Mr. B.'s edito- 
rial comments. — Finally takes the pledge. — Establishes a Tem- 
perance Paper. — Opposes the use of wine. — His opinion on the 
traffic in spirits. — Remarks from the Index. — Sketch of a Tem- 
perance Discourse — Short notes on the Wine Question. 

It would not be proper to pass over in entire si- 
lence Mr. Mercer's relation to the great Temperance 
Reformation. For several years he took no active 
part in its support, and it is highly probable that many 
of his friends and admirers, by the influence of his ex- 



224 MEMOIRS OP 

ample, were induced to withhold their names from the" 
temperance pledge. And as he was in the habit for 
many years, in accordance with the advice of physi- 
cians, of using Cogniac Brandy, in moderate quanti- 
ties, we are not required by charity to discredit some 
reports which crept into circulation, that now and 
then an inveterate drinker, with an air of complacency 
and triumph, would quote the example of Mr. Mercer 
in his own vindication. The following extracts from 
a letter of Mr. Mercer, published in the Columbian 
Star and Christian Index, in 1829, may be read with 
some interest, as it explains the ground occupied by 
him at that time. The letter was intended to rebuke 
what he considered the unguarded and intemperate 
zeal of some of the friends of the Reformation, and 
also to present his reasons for not connecting himself 
with a temperance Society. 

" It becomes the members and real friends of tem- 
perance to be moderate, forbearing and tender ; not 
to offend, but conciliate. To bear much without re- 
tort ; to go forward without conflict ; to gain the 
vantage ground by non-resistance. I am (if non- 
members can be) friendly to the anti-intemperance 
societies. I have been informed, however, that my 
example has been quoted on the opposite side. This 
I deeply regret. I am sure this was done without 
knowing any justifying reason, except, that I still used 
spirits, and had not become a member of some tem- 
perance society. For the sake of such I will state my 
example and the cause why I am not an actual mem- 
ber, &c. l When it pleased the Lord to reveal his 
dear Son in me,' and to impress me with the worth of 
immortal souls, I was made deeply to deplore the 






JESSE MERCER. 225 



ravages of intemperance, and to inquire what was the 
source of this wide-spreading evil : And I soon came 
to the conclusion that the tippling shops, and other 
places of public resort for drinking, were the most, if 
not the true and only cause of intemperance ; and I 
have ever avoided them as the snares of death. No 
man can, with truth, accuse me of entering, or visit- 
ing one of these places and callings/or a gill or half 
pint, to this day. I have, in days when temperance 
societies were unknown, recommended this as an ex- 
ample to others ; but with what success, the day of 
final decision must make known. It may be asked, 
why I am not a member 1 It is not because I think 
* it degrading to a Baptist to become a member of a 
temperance society/ but that my brethren have now 
gone rather too far for me, and more especially, be- 
cause I wish to be consistent in the view of my be- 
holders. 1. I have not yet been convinced that the 
use of spirits is in itself a sin. Convince me of this 
and I will be a member, or come to ' the desired re- 
sult.' But, 2d. I have been in bad health for years 
past, as you know, and after using many celebrated 
and prepared medicines, without effect,* to restore the 
tone of my intestines, several of the most eminent 
physicians, at different times and places, recommend- 
ed to me the habitual use of Cogniac brandy. This 
course I adopted reluctantly, but with apparently 
good effect. I now use it medicinally ; but this can- 
not be generally knoivn, and therefore, I do not join 
the society. But the main object — to promote temper- 
ance, by suppressing intemperance, I most cordially 
patronise and wish to promote. But I fear it is likely 
to suffer in the hands of its friends." 
11 



226 MEMOIRS OF 

Upon the letter, from which the above is extracted, 
the Editor, Rev. W. T. Brantly, who by the by was 
an ardent friend and great admirer of Mr. Mercer, 
made some rather severe, though entirely well-meant, 
and good-natured comments. They excited many a 
pleasant smile at the time, rather at the expense of 
the venerable brother; and the Editor's expressive 
figure, " Brandy Bay" soon became a standard phrase 
amongst the people. The following are his remarks : 

" We can never dissent from any opinion or prac- 
tice of our dear Mkrcer, without suspecting and scru- 
tinizing the accuracy of our own views. He is so 
uniformly right and good, that we might be almost 
tempted to pick up, and preserve, the very errors 
which he lets Jail ; but in the present case he has 
dropt from the rear wallet, more of this commodity 
than we can honestly pocket, and more we apprehend 
than he himself will, on reflection, think worth pre- 
servation. The use of Cogniac in his own case for 
medicinal purposes, we pretend not to question. Let 
it be so in his case and in all other similar cases. If 
it be an essential article in the Materia Mcdica, we 
have no quarrel with it. But we should remember, 
nevertheless, that if our use of calomel or arsenic, 
which are potent medicines, should be likely to make 
our neighbors and families so fond of the poison as to 
endanger their lives, though we ourselves might be 
wise enough to avoid danger from it, yet on their ac- 
count we should banish the snare. I have a good 
vessel and steerage, and am an expert sailor, and can 
therefore cruise about in Brandy Bay without being 
drawn into the whirlpool of intemperance, but some 



JESSE MERCER. 221 

of my less skilful neighbors, seeing me sail so pleas- 
antly, may be tempted to go a pleasuring upon the 
same deceitful Bay, and may be lost. If my example 
encouraged them to the venture, I should have cause 
of regret." 

Satisfied at length that his example was doing in- 
jury, under the influence of the sacred principle laid 
«iown by the Apostle Paul, that " it is good neither 
to eat flesh, nor to drink tvine, nor any thing whereby 
thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made tveak," 
Mr, Mercer determined to abandon his little moderate 
excursions on " Brandy Bay" though rendered some- 
what needful as he supposed, by his declining health, 
and draw up his boat and fasten it for ever upon the 
safe and dry shore of Total Abstinence. 

He soon became a thorough and able advocate of 
the cause, was appointed the President of a Temper- 
ance Society in the town where he resided, and estab- 
lished a temperance paper, which, though sustained 
at a pecuniary loss to himself, had considerable circu- 
lation, and was the means of doing much good. The 
paper was transferred with the Index office to Pen- 
field, where it is now published by Mr. Benj. Brantly, 
not however, as the paper of the Convention, but as 
his own individual concern. 

Should any be anxious to know what effect the en- 
tire disuse of Cogniac Brandy had upon Mr. Mercer's 
health, the writer feels authorized to state, for he 
heard it from his own lips, that his abstinence was 
rather beneficial than otherwise, and that he was satis- 
fied at length the medicine he had been using tended, 
on the whole, to aggravate the disease it was designed 
to mitigate. 



228 mem-oiks of 

It will be recollected that for many years the* user 
of wine was tolerated by most temperance societies f 
but that at last the propriety of this began to be ques- 
tioned, and finally that it became pretty generally a 
settled point, that the temperance reformation de- 
manded for itself a radical reform, inasmuch as its 
great designs could not thoroughly and universally be 
accomplished upon any other principle than that of 
total abstinence from all kinds of intoxicating drinks. 
At the early stage of this second reform, Mr. Mercer 
was found amongst its warmest advocates ; and he 
was no less ready to warn the people of the danger- 
ous shoals of Madeira Lake, than he had been for 
many years to point out the fatal whirlpools of Bran- 
dy Bay. 

Mr. Mercer's opinion of the traffic in ardent spirits 
may be learned from an answer which he- gave 
through the Index to the question, " What is to be 5 
done with a church member who traffics in ardent 
spirits V It is as follows : 

11 In this case we are of opinion, the church should 
be as kindly affectioned towards such a brother, as the 
case will permit, and endeavor by brotherly love to 
dissuade him from his course. His duty however is 
plain. He should immediately forsake the traffic 
which is offensive \.o his brethren, as his bounden duty. 
Read Rom. 14 : 13. 15. 19, 20,. 21. 1 Cor. 8 : 10-13. 
The scripture requires us to walk circumspectly. It 
ought to be noticed, that public opinion is changed, 
and changing very fast on this subject. And the traf- 
fic in ardent spirits cannot be entered into now, as 
safely as it could some years ago. It is now satisfac- 
torily ascertained that there is no benefit whatsoever 



.rassE MERCER. 229 

in ardent spirits. It must therefore be morally wrong 
.to offer for sale, that which the vender knows can do 
the buyer no good. It must be worse to offer for sale 
that which he knows, while it can do him no good, 
may do him much harm. We regret very much that 
any Christian brother should allow himself, under any 
.pretence, to engage in a traffic which would make it 
his interest to encourage his fellow-men to ruin them- 
selves for time and eternity. And such must be the 
interest of those who enter into the traffic of ardent 
spirits." 

The annexed piece from the pen of Mr. Mercer, 
appeared also in the columns of the Index. It con- 
tains some solid and judicious reflections. 

U A matter for sober consideration." 

" Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear 
you in pieces, and there he none to deliver. 

Jehovah. 

'" It is wise and safe in man to study the will, and 
-endeavor to walk before G od to all well pleasing. 
To be indifferent to his honor, must be offensive to his 
majesty and provoking to his wrath. We are com- 
manded that zvhether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we 
do, to do all to the glory of God. This teaches us 
that the little affairs of life and the pleasures of taste 
should all be regulated by this rule : for we may of- 
fend in eating and drinking. This must depend on 
the motives we have, and the extent to which we in- 
dulge them in eating and drinking. Our Creator 
made us dependant on wholesome aliment for growth, 
health and beauty ; and lias graciously given us ap~ 



230 MEMOIRS OF 

petites and cravings for it. The gratification of these 
natural desires so far as consists with the ends to be 
secured, must be according to the pleasure of him 
who gave us richly all things to enjoy ; but all beyond 
this must be injurious and offensive — must be intem- 
perance, gluttony and debauch. This evil state will 
be produced by losing sight (in part or in whole) of 
the meet ends to be attained in eating and drinking,, 
and in seeking to satiate those appetites which are ex- 
cessive, and which in their indulgence become insa- 
tiable ; and thus men plunge themselves into licen- 
tiousness, dissipation and perdition. 

" There is another circumstance which aggravates- 
this sore evil among the people. It is the prepara- 
tion of food, or the invention of new articles of food, 
to suit the cravings of the vitiated palate, or to please 
a debased taste, which, instead of improving the 
strength, pleasure and usefulness of the body, only 
tends to enervation, disease and death. Among this 
last class, are those articles of food which have in 
them no nutriment at all, and are used only for certain 
relishes which they possess, suitable to gratify the 
palate and regale the taste, and which are, therefore, 
the better adapted to increase dissipation, misery and 
ruin in society. Here it may be proper to inquire, 
whether this was not, most probably, the very purpose 
for which intoxicating liquors were at first introduced 
as a beverage, into common use ? It could not have 
been on account of any nutritious quality they had ; 
for universal experience has proven that they contain 
no such quality. It must, therefore, have been from 
some medical virtue found in them, or their tendency 
to excite and please a vicious taste their use had cre- 
ated ; or to animate the feelings and arouse the baser 



JESSE MERCER. 231 

passions of the heart. It may be asked if they can in 
no way be lawfully used] We answer yes : in just 
so far as they can be satisfactorily proven to be need- 
ful, either for the good of the user or the happiness 
of the community ; otherwise their use will be inju- 
rious, and, by the dictates of common sense, ought to 
be declined. But it may be further asked,- — does not 
the bible allow their use ; Yes — just so far and no 
farther than they are beneficial. The bible does not 
permit their use for food ; for there is no sustenance 
in them. It cannot allow their use for the fulfilment 
of any but the innocent and natural desires — but there 
are no such desires for them to satisfy. There is 
nothing in them that can gratify any natural propen- 
sity of nature. The bible, then, allows their use only 
so far as they are medical. That is in cases of dis- 
ease, where the patient ' is ready to jperisli? and sink- 
ing nature needs some artificial excitement, or when 
pining sickness, or hysteria, and other disordered af- 
fections (heavy hearts,) or a complication of com- 
plaints (often infirmities,) make their use needful to 
sustain, invigorate and assist the body in regaining its 
health. 

" But we are fully of opinion that the bible indi- 
rectly > at least, forbids their use as a common bever- 
age, because that use is practised only to gratify a 
desire or taste which is unnatural, and unnecessary 
for the benefit of the body, but altogether artificial, 
and which, in the attempt to supply its cravings, 
proves itself insatiate and vicious. Let it be carefully 
determined to what class of desires mentioned in the 
bible, the desire which leads to the use of spirituous 
liquors, belongs. Can it be classed with those desires 
for nourishment which are common] No — because 
these always have something good, and capable to 



232 MEMOIRS? OF 

give the satisfaction in view ; but there is no such ca- 
pacity in those liquors to afford gratification, and the 
desire for them does not belong legitimately to human 
nature. Does it in any wise associate with the de- 
sires of the child of grace, who is prompted by the 
spirit to seek spiritual nourishment I No — for these 
are holy ; and the more they are fulfilled, the more 
spiritual, holy, heavenly and godlike do their possess- 
ors become ; but not so with the desire for alcoholic 
drinks, for the more it is fed, the more earthly ', sensu- 
al and devilish do its possessors become. It cannot 
belong to these. But we think it best associates with 
the desires of the flesh, in which they ivho are dead in 
sins, walk. These desires are called lusts, because of 
their vicious character ; and they are declared by the 
apostle to be ' corrupt? And what habit tends to 
more corruption, individual and social, than that which 
is constantly, in regard to ardent spirits, like the horse- 
leech's daughters, crying, give, give, — and like the fire 
that can never he satisfied ? They are also pronounced 
' deceitful.' And what desire in its gratification can 
be mare deceitful than this % It constantly is promising 
something good and pleasurable to its votaries, and 
yet deals uniformly in disappointments, wretchedness 
and death. They also are said to * war against the 
soul? And what desire or lust can strike a more 
deadly blow at every interest of the soul, whether for 
time or eternity, than this ? 

" If the desire for alcoholic liquors must be classed 
with the lusts of the flesh, and we cannot see that it 
can be placed in any other company, then the bible 
must be at war with the fulfilment of it, because its 
tendency is as much, if not more than any other, to 
fill the world with corruption. And if God is at va- 
riance with the causes of sin, and strikes at the roots 



JESSE MERCEfc. 233 

of iniquity, he must be opposed to this, as a most 
fruitful source of all moral evil — of all unrighteous- 
ness and ungodliness in the earth. To suppose him 
to be favorable to the gratification of this desire, any 
more tha?i he is favorable to the practice of sin, would 
be to suppose him the accomplice of the workers of 
iniquity, and to have fellowship with the fruitful work 
of unrighteousness ; which would be palpably deroga- 
tory to all the attributes of his nature, and counter to 
all the tenor of his word. It cannot be. 

" And now to conclude this long article, permit us 
to address among our readers, the professors of reli- 
gion. We request every christian brother whose eyes 
shall fall on these lines, to ask himself, as in the pres- 
ence of God his Saviour, whether it is right to use 
any thing, not necessary to his well-being, which tends 
to generate a thirst, the gratification of which is dan- 
gerous to morality, piety, and religion ] And whether 
it can be right to fulfil the desires of that thirst when 
excited, since it only leads to disorder, misery, -and 
death ] You have professed to be converted from 
sin, to have turned to God and joined hi3 armies, 
warring against all unrighteousness and ungodliness 
in the world. Truly it may be said of those who in- 
dulge in potations to slake this vicious thirst, that they 
have not resisted unto blood, striving against sin ; but 
they have by their example and influence, been build- 
ing up the strongholds of the kingdom of darkness. 
Alas ! alas ! for this inconsistency. We are aston- 
ished that christian professors have slept over this 
glaring sin so long. That they have not opened their 
eyes and looked on the prodigious strides which ini- 
quity is taking by means of this vice, encouraged by 
their example, leaving behind it nought but tears, wo 

11* 



23 1 MEMOIRS or 

and despair. We trust they will soon take the warn- 
ing, and arise to the rescue. That ministers of the 
gospel will, with one voice, * Blow the trumpet in 
Zion, and sound the alarm in God's holy mount,' until 
all shall unite in the pledge of total abstinence." 

Brief sketch of a temperance discourse found 
amongst Mr. Mercer's manuscripts, 

" Rom. 13 : 10. Love worketh no. ill to his neigh- 
bor; Therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law / r 
" T. Love — what is it ? 

" Love fulfils both 'tables of the law. Matt. 22 : 
35 — 40. But more particularly the second. Matt. 7 : 
12. Love to ourselves fixes the standard of moral 
conduct. It is a principle of nature. Rom. 2 : 13 — 15. 
It secures us from harm. Eph. 5 : 29. — and leads to 
happiness and praise. Ps. 49 : 18. (' Men will praise 
thee when thou doest well to thyself.' ) 

" This principle will secure our neighbor from in- 
jury, (see the text,) and seek his good ; Rom. 15 : 2. 
It will forego its own pleasure to save its neighbor 
from suffering injury; Rom. 14 : 21. It will even 
abandon what is lawful, lest it should do harm, &c. r r 
1 Cor. 8 : 9—13. 

" It appears from the foregoing, that all men are 
bound not to injure themselves or their neighbor; but 
to do good both to themselves and their neighbor. 
This is the law of nature and nature's God. And 
this, love to God and love to man will secure. 

" II. Having fixed the true principles of morality, 
let us now apply them to the subject before us. 

" Let us inquire whether intoxicating liquors can 
be used as a common beverage, without injury to 
ourselves and others I 



JESSE MERCER. 235 

" 1. To ourselves. They are unnecessary. Un- 
natural excitements must do harm. They may infix 
[evil] habits ; create [improper] relishes, and produce 
diseases and death. 

"2. To others. The use of intoxicating beverages 
will influence society for evil. 

" The effect on the reforming inebriate must be de- 
structive. Intemperance will increase as any intoxi- 
cating drinks are indulged in. 

" Motives to total abstinence. Love of ourselves — 
love of country — love of our family* — love of our 
neighbor* — and lastly, love to God and immortal hap- 
piness, should secure us against this besetting sin." 

To the above may be added a few short notes in 
reference to the objection which is sometimes urged 
against total abstinence societies, viz. that the scrip- 
tures allow the use of wine. 

"1. The bible seems to show the proper use to 
be restricted to the faint and weary. See the case 2 
Sam. 16 : 1, 2. and the case of Lemuel, Prov. 31 : 4 — 6. 
These are high examples. 

" 2. The disuse is commended-— In the case of the 
Rechabites, Jer. 35 : 18, 19. In the case of Daniel, 
&c. ; Dan. 1 : 5. 8. 15. In the case of John the Bap- 
tist; Luke 1 : 15. 

" 3. Total abstinence is enjoined in the case of the 
priests in the sanctuary ; Lev. 10:8 — 11. Of the 
Nazarites ; Num. G : 1 — 4. 

" 4. It is considered a curse. See the case of Han- 
nah; 1 Sam. 1 : 14—16. Micah 2 : 10, 11. 

" 5. The history of wine in the bible, is the history 
of sin and death.' ' 



■dob MEMOIRS OF 

CHAPTER XI. 

Mr. Mercer's pecuniary contributions to benevolent objects. 

Mr. Mercer was a man of unbounded liberality, 
" I am persuaded," said he, in a letter to a christian 
brother, " the day will come when christians will have 
no other object in making money, but to give back 
again to the Giver, in some useful way." Few men 
have acted in more strict accordance with this senti- 
ment, than the author of it himself. His liberality 
was not under the control of sudden, variable, and 
undisciplined impulses, but was regulated by sound 
judgment and established principle. He felt that he 
belonged to the Lord, that all which he possessed was 
the Lord's, and how well he fulfilled the duties of his 
stewardship, his unwearied acts of benevolence for a 
long series of years bear ample testimony. In his ca- 
reer of liberality and well-doing, " he walked by 
faith." He exercised an habitual and strong reliance 
upon those promises which connect the blessing of 
heaven with the judicious and bountiful appropriation 
of our substance to the cause of Christ. "He used 
to relate," says a brother that knew him well, "many 
instances in his own history, of the Lord's willingness 
to remunerate those who gave for his cause. He had 
been one winter handing out his five dollars to several 
benevolent objects as they had been presented, till he 
thought prudence dictated that he should do no more 
at present. In a day or two the claims of the Jews 
were brought before the community at Powelton. 
Notwithstanding his fears about duty, he again threw 
in his five dollars. That night he took from the Post 



JESSE MERCER. 237 

Office a letter containing twenty dollars, from an un- 
known person. Several instances of this kind were 
within his own knowledge.' ' It might be proper here 
to state, that the circumstance just related occurred at 
a time when his means for giving were limited in 
comparison with what they were at a later period of 
his life. 

It was a matter of great grief to him that so many 
of his brethren withheld their pecuniary aid from the 
cause of Christ, and that so many who pretended to 
give, measured out their bounty with such a parsimo- 
nious hand. He used occasionally to say, " we have a 
great many dollar men amongst us. Present to them a 
subscription for the preacher, and they will put down 
a dollar ; hand them the missionary subscription, 
and they will put down a dollar ; ask them to aid the 
Sabbath school cause, and they will give a dollar. 
This seems to be their standard, when many of them, 
if they had the disposition, might just as easily give 
their Jives, their tens, and their fifties" Brother 
Mercer was not a dollar man. He gave by hundreds 
and thousands, and tens of thousands. It would be 
very difficult, if not impossible, to make out a full and 
accurate list of his more public benefactions ; and still 
more so, to write the history of his private bounties. 
It is probable that many and large amounts were dis- 
tributed by his right hand, which his left was forbid- 
den to know, and which will not be known to men, 
till the judgment shall reveal the secret charities ®f 
the faithful. 

There is reason to believe that for a long series of 
years, most of the compensation which he received 
from the churches for his ministerial labors, was ap- 
propriated to charitable purposes ; the addition which 



233 MEMOIRS OF 

he made to his estate, being derived mainly from the 
sale of books, and other sources. After the death of 
his last child (in 1S14,) he seemed to have lost sight 
of every object for the accumulation of property, but 
the cause of the blessed Redeemer. Some of his oc- 
casional donations to benevolent objects will now be 
specified. 

The Columbian College shared largely in his boun- 
ty. On one occasion he gave $750 to that Institution ; 
at another, $1000. 

He aided the Mercer University by numerous and 
liberal contributions. To defray the current expenses 
at the outset, he gave say $150 ; for the land first and 
last, $550 ; for one of the buildings, $1000 ; for anoth- 
er, $400 ; For the library and apparatus, he also gave 
$400 ; and he gave his note for $5000, the interest to 
be appropriated to assist in the support of the faculty. 
To the Female Academy in Washington, under 
the control of the Presbyterian denomination, he gave 
$300 ; to the Baptist church in that place, he gave a 
house and lot for a parsonage. 

The Christian Index, press, type, and outstanding 
dues, he turned over to the Convention ; and he also 
gave to the Georgia Association all the unsold copies 
of his history of that body, amounting to one thousand 
or more, to be disposed of for any purpose that his 
brethren might deem proper. 

To the bible cause he was a liberal contributor ; 
Tract, and Sabbath school institutions found in him a 
ready and bountiful patron ; indeed, there was scarce- 
ly any object of benevolence placed before him, 
which commended itself to his judgment as proper 
and deserving, which was dismissed without his 
prayers and his alms. 



J£SSE sffERcm 23<J 

His noble contributions to sustain the missionary 
enterprise, are well known to the christian commu- 
nity. Besides his regular annual contributions, which 
were generally large, he gave at one time to the Bap- 
tist Board of Foreign Missions, fifty shares of United 
Btates Bank stock, worth at the time, jive thousand 
jive hundred dollars. The enlightened views which 
he entertained when determining the specific appli- 
cation to be made of this generous donation, will ap- 
pear from a short extract from a letter to Mr. Bolles 
the corresponding secretary. " I hasten to reply in 
reference to the endowment of a permanent fund. I 
am not of the number who believe the funds desig- 
nated for missions, must not be applied to any pur- 
pose but the operations in the fields, but to all the 
needful means for putting those operations into mo- 
tion. The support of those officers whose services 
are needed all the time, must be provided for, as well 
as the laborers at the stations. I am therefore, as 
cheerful to consecrate my bequest to that fund, the 
mterest of which is only to be used in paying the 
salaries of the officers of the Board, whose services 
are as above, as to any missionary purpose ; as the 
one is indispensable to the other, and will as well for- 
ward the general design*" 

In relation to this liberal donation, the correspond- 
ing secretary, in the closing part of a lengthy commu- 
nication to Mr. Mercer, writes as follows, under date 
of Oct. 12, 1835. " Since writing the above, the 
Board has held a special meeting, and acted on the 
subject of your munificent donation. They were 
deeply impressed with the Christian and fraternal 
spirit which all your letters in relation to it indicate, 



240 MEMOIRS OF 

and the enlarged views taken by you in assigning it 
the direction you have. The following extracts from 
the minutes of the Board will show their sentiments 
and purpose. 

* * 1. The corresponding secretary read a letter 
from the Rev. Dr. Mercer, enclosing as a donation to 
the Board, fifty shares of the United States Bank 
stock. 

" ' 2. Also another letter from the same, specifying 
that the above named shares are to be a perpetual 
fund, the nett proceeds of which shall be applied to 
the support of the Secretary (or Secretaries,) and 
Treasurer of the convention. 

" ' 3. Resolved, that the Board gratefully accept 
the above donation on the conditions specified by the 
donor. 

" ' 4. Resolved, that the Cor. Secretary be request- 
ed to address a letter to the Rev. Jesse Mercer, D. D. 
President of this Board, expressing our high sense of 
his kindness and liberality, accompanied by a copy of 
the resolutions adopted in relation to it.' " 

To some of his brethren who were on terms of 
confidential intercourse with him, it was known many 
years before his death, that he intended to bequeath 
the principal portion of his estate to the cause of 
Christ. He had many relations, and some of them 
in limited circumstances, who would, no doubt, have 
been gratified to have received a liberal portion of 
his substance ; but the question with this conscientious 
and holy man was, " in what way can I dispose of 
that which God has given me, so that the greatest 
amount of good will ensue, and the Lord be most 
glorified V When his Will was opened, it was found 



JESSE MERCER. 241 

that the purpose which had been long and calmly 
resolved and firmly settled in his mind, was carried 
faithfully out. All, all that he had to dispose of, with 
some trifling exceptions, was bequeathed to the Sa- 
viour, who had bought him with his blood. The fol- 
lowing extracts from his last Will and Testament, 
exhibit the details of his final, pious benefactions, 

" As it hath pleased God to take my beloved wife, 
Nancy Mercer, to himself, I now proceed to make 
such distribution of the property now left in my 
hands, as voluntarily and mutually agreed upon when 
we first came together in marriage. We having seen, 
as we thought, an evil rather than a benefit, in be- 
queathing property to relatives ; that even the expec- 
tation of receiving such gifts, often nourishes evil 
propensities, &c. concluded that when we should no 
longer need the use of our temporal effects, they 
should be disposed of to benevolent and literary In- 
stitutions, according as might seem to be most advisa- 
ble. I therefore, for aiding and assisting in the ope- 
rations of the following benevolent societies and in- 
stitutions, give and devise, to wit : 

" 1. I give and devise to the Baptist Convention in 
the United States, for Foreign Missions, fifty shares 
of the capital stock in the bank of Augusta, Georgia. 

" 2. I give and devise to the Baptist Publication 
Society, twenty-five shares of the capital stock in the 
bank of Augusta, Georgia. 

"3. I give and devise to the American and Foreign 
Bible Society, twenty-five shares of the capital stock 
in the bank of the state of Georgia. 

" 4. I give and devise to the American Tract So- 
ciety, twenty-five shares of the capital stock in the 
Bank of Augusta, Georgia,, 



242 MEMOIRS OF 

" 5. I give and devise to the American Baptist 
Home Mission Society, chiefly to aid in their opera- 
tions in Texas, twenty-five shares of the capital stock 
in the Bank of the state of Georgia. 

" 6. I give and devise to the trustees of the Colum- 
bian College in the District of Columbia, twenty-two 
shares of the capital stock in the Bank of the state of 
Georgia : provided, however, that if the debts of the 
said Columbian College remain unpaid six months 
after my decease, and the Institution still embarrassed, 
then the twenty-two shares of bank stock to it devised, 
shall be given to the Baptist Convention for foreign 
missions, in addition to that bequest made in No. 1 of 
this will. 

" 7. I give and devise to the trustees of the Mercer 
University, Penfield, Green county, Georgia, one 
hundred and twenty-five shares of the capital stock 
in the Georgia Rail Road and Banking Company, for 
the support of the Faculty of said Institution, and 
such other purposes as the said Trustees may find 
necessary : the dividends or annual income only, to 
be used. 

***** 

" I make the further bequests : 

" I give and devise to the Trustees of the Mercer 
University, at Penfield, Georgia, one hundred shares 
of the capital stock of the Bank of the state of Geor- 
gia, and the whole residuary of my estate, which may 
remain after the payment of all my just debts and 
necessary claims thereon, and what may hereafter be 
bequeathed. This amount is to constitute, with the 
sum of the professorship made by the Central Asso- 
ciation, a professorship of Sacred, Biblical Literature, 
or Theological Learning. The annual income of 
which only, to be used. 



JESSE MERCER. 243 

# # # # # 

" My library I wish also to be turned over to the 
University, and all other books which may remain un- 
disposed of at the time of my decease, to be disposed 
of as the Trustees may direct." 

How pleasant to the pious heart to contemplate 
such pure and bright examples of enlarged and dis- 
interested philanthropy. They are rare indeed, but 
their moral influence upon the church cannot but be 
salutary and lasting. Each one is a portion of pre- 
cious leaven thrown into the great mass, which in due 
time will work out a sure and blessed result. Covet- 
ousness, which has so long been the sin and curse 
of the church, must sooner or later yield up its sway 
under the increasing light and power of gospel influ- 
ence. But the benevolent heart is pained in reflect- 
ing how long it will probably be, before this auspi- 
cious era will arrive, and the universal church fully 
realize the sweetness and glory of the Saviour's 

WOrds, " IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RE- 
CEIVE.' ' Is there one amongst a hundred, nay, one 
amongst a thousand of the Baptists of America, who f 
as to his pecuniary sacrifices for the spread of the 
gospel, has a right to share the honor of her that 
anointed the Saviour for his burying, of whom it was 
said, "she hath done what she couldP There are 
about sixty thousand Baptists in the state of Georgia. 
Were they all to be warmed with pentecostal fire 
and love ; were the grace vouchsafed to the Macedo- 
nian churches, which, in their deep poverty, abounded 
still in their charities, and to their power, and beyond 
their power, imparted of their substance to relieve 
their suffering brethren; we should soon see an 



244 MEMOIRS OF 

amount brought forward for benevolent purposes, 
equal, perhaps, to the present annual contributions of 
the entire denomination for Foreign and Domestic 
Missions. It would no longer be necessary to beg 
and implore, and argue, to gain their consent to give, 
but with joyful haste would each and all come for- 
ward, " praying us with much entreaty that we would 
receive the gift," and bear it speedily to the needy 
and perishing. There are half a million Baptists in 
the United States, who could give annually, from fifty 
cents to one thousand dollars for the dissemination of 
gospel light. Yet there are thousands, whom God 
has blessed with plenty, and who profess to have been 
purchased with the blood of Christ, and to be heirs 
of a heavenly crown, who have not a mite to give ; 
and of those that do something, how many are far- 
thing men, and dollar men, who would be the hap- 
pier and the richer for increasing their bounty a hun- 
dred fold. When our brethren shall all begin .to feel 
that the highest and noblest object they are to have 
in view in making money, is " to give it back again to 
the Giver, in some useful icay" when they shall all 
begin to associate the claims of Zion with the daily 
wants of their wives and children, and plow, and 
sow, and reap for the Lord and his cause, rather than 
for the gratification of their own pride and covetous- 
ness, and love of ease ; when each shall settle it in 
his mind to do what he can, certainly, systematically, 
and from established and deep-seated principle, then 
will abundant means flow in for all needful objects 
in our own, and every foreign land ; nay, it might 
soon be necessary to say to the churches, as was said 
to ancient Israel when contributing for the Ark and 
the Tabernacle, u the jieoi le bring much more than 



JESSE MERCER. 245 

enough for the service of the work." It is high time 
for us, as a people, to bemoan our sins, and repent in 
dust and ashes. What poor returns have we made to* 
the Lord for all his benefits ! The examples of Jud- 
son, and Cobb, and Withington, and Mercer, re- 
prove us ; especially are we reproved by the example 
of our blessed Saviour, who, " though he was rich, yet 
for our sokes became poor, that ive through his poverty, 
might be rich*" 



CHAPTER XH. 



Unhappy divisions in the churches. — Mr. Mercer's opinions as to 
the causes. — His Circular Letter published in the Convention 
Minutes of 1831.— Usefulness at ministers r meetings. — Extracts 
from his sermon on ministerial union. — Letters to Mr. B. and 
Mr. L. 

For twenty-five or thirty years previous to 1829, 
the Baptist churches of Georgia had lived in great 
peace and harmony. Some occasional difficulties, it 
is true, had occurred, but they were generally con- 
fined to narrow bounds, to inconsiderable numbers, 
and were of comparatively short duration. The years 
1827 and 1828 were signalized by a remarkable out- 
pouring of the spirit upon many of the churches, and 
by uncommonly large and rapid accessions to their 
numbers. 

This period of unexampled prosperity was followed 
by extraordinary efforts on the part of the adversary 
of the church, to sow the tares of strife and confu- 
sion. A great reaction in the zeal of many of Christ's 



216 MEMOIRS OP 

ministers and peoj^le seems to have taken place ; 
practical godliness was too generally neglected ; those 
continued and well directed means, which are so es- 
sential to perpetuate and multiply the happy results 
of powerful revivals of religion, were greatly neg- 
lected ; and of course we need not be much surprised 
that the efforts of the enemy were so sadly and exten- 
sively successful. The writer would gladly avoid all 
reference to this unpleasant topic ; but a narrative 
that should entirely overlook it, would not be a full 
and faithful record of the life of Mr. Mercer. Whilst, 
therefore, a sense of duty compels him to take a cur- 
sory view of some events which cannot be called to 
mind but with the deepest sorrow, he trusts that he 
will not be suspected of the most distant intention to 
afflict the feelings of a single christian brother, or to 
rend afresh those wounds which are now so rapidly 
healing under the gracious care of the great Head of 
the church. 

A disposition on the part of some of the associa- 
tions to interfere in what was considered an arbitrary 
and unscriptural manner with the affairs of the 
churches, was one of the most fruitful sources of the 
many distressing evils which so long afflicted the Bap- 
tists of Georgia. The encroachments of associations 
were met with prompt resistance on the part of many 
of the churches, mingled, oftentimes, no doubt, with 
a spirit not the most lovely and conciliating ; this, in 
some instances, was followed by attempts on the part 
of the associations to justify their previous course, 
and by further acts, which the churches deemed an 
unwarrantable interference with their rights. The 
result of these proceedings was, that some of the 
churches withdrew from the associations, and some 



JESSE MERCER. 247 

were withdrawn from ; whilst others were sadly di- 
vided amongst themselves, and rent into fragments. 
In many cases, associational correspondence was laid 
aside, ministerial friendship and intercourse were en- 
tirely suspended, and the communion and the fellow- 
ship of the churches broken. Bitter jealousies, evil 
surmisings, and uncharitable accusations were multi- 
plied ; whilst the occasional attempts which were 
made to bring about a more desirable state of things, 
seemed for a time, only to aggravate the disorders 
they were intended to cure. In the mean time, the 
anti-missionary spirit, which it is to be feared had 
been secretly operating for several years^ burst forth 
in great violence, and by its rending, non-fellowship 
policy, increased still further the work of strife and 
confusion. It was one of the greatest afflictions of 
Mr. Mercer's life, that some of the brethren with 
whom he had co-operated on terms of christian confi- 
dence and affection, became alienated from him, and 
from those noble, benevolent objects which he had so 
long been engaged in sustaining, and that some even 
went so far as to accuse him of a departure from the 
gospel faith. 

Under such peculiar circumstances, it seemed that 
important duties devolved upon the intelligent and 
influential members of the denomination; and espe- 
cially, upon the venerable father whose counsels had 
ever been so much valued in times of difficulty and 
trial. It was of great importance to ascertain and 
exhibit the causes of these multiplied afflictions, and 
also to search out and unfold the appropriate reme- 
dies ; to place in a clear and convincing light, before 
the churches and associations, the established princi- 
ples of the denomination, and wherein these princi- 



248 MEMOIRS OF 

pies had been lost sight of; and not only to bring' 
back the erring to correct principles of discipline, 
but, as far as possible, to assuage exasperated feeling, 
and restore divided and alienated brethren to each 
others confidence, fellowship, and affection. In the 
efforts which were made to accomplish these de- 
sirable ends, Mr. Mercer, as might have been expect- 
ed, took a conspicuous part. His faithful exertions 
at associational meetings, his private labors with breth- 
ren by epistolary correspondence and personal inter- 
course, his able circulars and essays, together with 
his numerous editorial communications in the Index, 
in exposition of the faith and practice of the denomi- 
nation, and his prompt, indefatigable labors at impor- 
tant ministerial convocations, all go to illustrate the 
ardent zeal with which he toiled for reconciliation 
and peace, as well as the great utility of the services 
which he rendered. 

The disunion of the churches had been charged by 
some to the objects and operations of the Baptist 
State Convention. In reference to this accusation, 
Mr. Mercer makes the following judicious remarks. 
" Before any acts can be considered ' fellowship-de- 
stroying,' they must be ascertained to be either im- 
moral in themselves, or evil in their tendency. But 
what immorality or evil tendency was there in the ob- 
jects of the General Association ] For instance, what 
immorality can there be in an effort to unite the influ- 
ence and pious intelligence of Georgia Baptists, so as 
thereby to facilitate their union and co-operation ? 
Or what evil can there be in forming and encouraging 
plans for the revival of experimental and practical 
religion % Or can there be any sin in giving effect to 
the useful plans of the several Associations ? Or can 



JESSE MERCER. 249 

it be thought a bad thing to furnish the means for the 
education of young, pious and indigent men, who are 
approved by their churches as called of God to the 
gospel ministry % Or can it be regarded by any as an 
immoral thing to promote pious a?id useful education 
in the Baptist denomination % We cannot conclude 
that any man whose mind has been in any wise im- 
bued by that wisdom which is necessary to direct, will 
pretend there is any cause in any of these objects to 
break the union of the churches/ ' 

Some of Mr. Mercer's views as to the real causes 
of the unhappy divisions complained of may be learn- 
ed from one or two extracts from his editorial com- 
munications. 

" All divisions are the fruit of contention and strife, 
originating in pride and ambition, the agitating of 
* unlearned questions? or departures from the true 
faith and order. There is no evil against which we 
are more advised and cautioned in scripture, than 
this ; which shows, not only the evil of party strifes, 
but the unhappy bias under which we naturally tend 
to divide and break asunder the cords which bind us 
together in unity and peace ; and against which we 
ought therefore to keep up a most strenuous guard. 

" I consider the causes of these divisions, which 
have rent our churches and spoiled our beauty, as a 
denomination, are to be found in the neglect of a 
godly discipline, and the consequent results. 

" Our Lord has laid down a few plain rules of gov- 
ernment, and established a tribunal in his church, at 
which all offences are to be tried and decided ; and 
from which there is no appeal, I believe it is adopted 
by all regular Baptists as the doctrine of Christ, that 

12 



250 MEMOIRS OP 

his church is his kingdom on earth ; that he sits in 
judgment there ; and that when a gospel church is 
sitting in gospel order, for the transaction of discipli- 
nary business, there is not a higher court on earth ; 
and that such church is arraignable at no other, or 
foreign bar : because her Judge is in her midst, an 1 
has commanded her implicit obedience. Now any 
departure from these rules, and any appeal from this 
authority and tribunal, will, can do no other than pro- 
duce amongst Baptists, strifes and divisions. ,, 

Again he observes : 

" The Lord has laid down those rules by which a 
godly government can be kept up, and all the sepa- 
rations or distinctions placed between the righteous 
and the wicked, which are necessary for all the pur- 
poses of godliness in the world. Now any rules set 
up, other than his, are stumbling blocks set up, by 
which brethren are made to fall. When churches or 
associations establish rules which the scriptures no- 
where require, and make the observance of them ne- 
cessary to fellowship ; then they cause divisions and 
offences contrary to the doctrine ice have learned. We 
think our brethren have gotten into the haftit of plac- 
ing too great stress on particular points of doctrine, 
and even on a 21 articular mode of construing them, 
and are determined on forcing a uniformity of faith 
by associational union. — If so, they will cause divi- 
sions, and not union. Union between christians, is like 
the coming together of two straight edges, it readily 
forms a joint ; or it is like the going up of the tem- 
ple, where no tool of iron was necessary to bring any 
thing to a joint. Force will never make a union 



JESSE MERCER. 251 

among christians ; but force will drive them out of 
joint. Where force is used, therefore, to keep the 
unity of the faith, it will always cause divisions and 
offences, contrary to the doctrine we have learned. 
When will our brethren learn the easy way of keep- 
ing the unity of the faith in the bond of peace?" 

In the following extract, Mr. Mercer glances at an 
evil which had become unhappily prevalent amongst 
some of his ministering brethren, and which he re- 
proves in the spirit of christian kindness. 

" Among the ministers of Christ, there is a diversity 
of gifts, and of course, different strains of preaching. 
Some are set, like Paul, for the defence of the gos- 
pel, or the establishment of the saints in faith ; others, 
like James, to excite christian professors to every 
good word and work. In this strain of preaching 
there may be an appearance of heterodoxy in its ten- 
dency, which is not real. And still more so in the 
strain of the evangelists, who are sent to call sinners 
to repentance. There must then be great care taken 
in such cases, lest the oil and the wine be hurt. But 
should it be satisfactorily clear that the tendency is 
too heterodox, then the church (or rather those breth- 
ren who notice it and are best able to judge,) should 
converse freely, and admonish such an one tenderly 
and faithfully; and if this does not remedy the evil, 
he should be reproved sharply by the pastor or el- 
ders : and if this fails, he should be called before the 
church, and if he refuse to be subject to the church's 
counsel, his gift must be taken from him, and if he 
refuse to lay it down, or otherwise carry himself dis- 
orderly and incorrigibly, he must be excluded. 



252 MEMOIRS OF 

" We take this occasion to state our conviction that 
there is utterly a fault among the ministers of Christ ; 
that is, instead of each one pursuing his proper call- 
ing, according to the gift he has received of the Lord, 
and all laboring in different parts of the same field 
together, to obtain the same great object, they too of- 
ten fall out and accuse one another of some supposed 
error, or inconsistency in their matter or manner of la- 
bor; each one at the same time sacrificing so far to his 
own drag, as to condemn his fellow servants because 
they do not labor precisely with him. Thus the high 
predestinarians accuse the low with arminianism ; and 
i i turn the low accuse the high with antinomianism. 
Iv,.v this may be in some cases true; and proper 
steps should be taken, in the spirit of christian meek- 
ness, to remedy it : but this spirit of crimination and 
recrimination cannot be right. Let not him, therefore, 
that preaches the covenant and all things ordered in 
it and made sure, despise him that preaches that men 
should repent, and exhorts, admonishes and beseeches 
them to turn to God through Christ ; nor yet him that 
dwells on practical godliness, because he does not 
preach election in every sermon ; and let not those 
despise him that preaches the purposes of God in the 
salvation of his chosen people, as the theme of his 
ministry, for God may have accepted them all in their 
different spheres of labor. 

" We most affectionately exhort and admonish all 
our brethren in the ministry, to cease to look on each 
other with an evil eye, and to speak of each other 
with harsh words. But let us all rather take the 
Apostle's advice in Rom. 14 : 13. in view of the most 
solemn and interesting fact that every one of us shall 
give account of himself to God. < Let us not there- 



JESSE MERCEll. 523 

fore judge one another any more : but judge this 
rather, that no man put a stumbling block, or an occa- 
sion to fall, in his brother's way.' " 

A Circular from the pen of Mr. Mercer, and pub- 
lished in the Convention Minutes of 1831, has a direct 
bearing upon the topics embraced in the present chap- 
ter ; and it contains so much sound and valuable in- 
struction, as to entitle it to a prominent place in these 
biographical sketches. 

"Men and Brethren, 

" Having obtained help of God, we are now as- 
sembled, according to appointment, and for the time 
we have been together, have had much pleasure in 
meeting and enjoying each other's company, harmony 
in deliberation, and comfort in the prospect before 
us ; though, at the same time, mingled with sorrow, 
for the desolations of Zion : And, therefore, beg leave 
to address you, in a few unvarnished remarks, on the 
importance of a more elevated standard of christian 
morality among the churches and ministers of our de- 
nomination. 

" The standard of christian morals, in itself consid- 
ered, is the truth, as it is in Jesus ; and is incapa- 
ble of either elevation or depression : but in our pre- 
sent design, it means the public estimation wad. prac- 
tical regard, in which it is held ; and will be higher 
or lower, according to the views truth obtains in the 
denomination ; and to which the practice of the 
churches will conform, and will be elevated or de- 
pressed accordingly. Just as water seeks its own 
level, or as the conduct of a community accords to 
public opinion ; so will christians' morals be influenced 



524 MEMOIRS OF 

by ihe standard of piety and godliness, as held sacred 
among the churches. This will be strikingly illus- 
trated by reference to the one only point, in which, 
we think, this standard is sufficiently raised among us, 
that is, it is universally agreed that immersion, and 
nothing but immersion is baptism ; and the practice is 
everywhere, in the denomination, one and the same — 
there is no difference — no dispute about it. Now if 
the standard was equally elevated in every other 
point of faith and duty, the churches would be in all 
points, in ilie same practical unity and peace ; and 
tending fast to perfectness. Just as rays of light con- 
verge, as they approach their centre, so we, in follow- 
ing this standard, when duly elevated, shall approxi- 
mate each other, as we approach the truth, as it is 
in Jesus ; and losing all asperities in assimilations to 
him, who is the truth itself, be swallowed up in light. 
But as rays of light, flying off from their source, di- 
verge as they fly, till they lose themselves in regions 
of unbroken darkness ; so we, in pursuing a depress- 
ed standard of piety, must widen and separate — be- 
come less and less ardent in christian affections, and 
losing all sense of vital union, merge into bitter ani- 
mosities and destructive feuds, and, lost in ourselves 
and to each other, be disembogued in the blackness 
of that darkness which is reserved unto wandering 
stars for ever. That the standard of christian morali- 
ty is deplorably low among the ministers and churches 
of our denomination, is too obvious to be concealed. 

" Beloved friends and brethren, to bring your minds 
to bear on this lamentable case, permit us to ask you 
a few plain questions. 

" Are there not many professors among us, whose 
spirit, life, and conversation, illy become the gospel 



JESSE MERCER. 255 

of Christ— worldly in their views, and mercenary in 
all they do, so, that if they were not seen in church 
meeting, or at the Lord's table, they could not be told 
from mere worldlings ] And yet, do they not go un- 
reproved ? 

" Are there not many, who, to the entire neglect of 
all family religion, seldom attend church meeting, and 
habitually live irreverently, if not immorally ? And 
are they not suffered to go undisciplined % 

" And others there are, who, in the plainest sense, 
are drunkards, 

" And though no drunkard hath any place in the 
kingdom of God and of Christ, yet do they not by 
some means — by feigned repentance, or empty and 
vain resolves, continue from youth to old age in the 
church, frequently, if not habitually, drunk 1 And 
are there not many such cases I 

" And more, is it not common, that mere negative 
goodness is all that is requisite to constitute a member 
in good standing, and to recommend him, as such, to 
a sister church % — But does not the parable of the fig 
tree reprove this practice % since the tree was not 
threatened to be cut down for bearing evil fruit, but 
because it bore none ! 

" And moreover, is there not evidently a want of 
union and concert among both ministers and churches 
of our denomination % 

" Have not instances occurred in which some 
churches have disciplined their members for tvhat 
others have winked at, or even commended in theirs ? 
And have not censured, and even excluded mem- 
bers of some, been received and nurtured by other 
churches 1 

" And have not ministers gotten into heated and 



25$ MEMOIRS OF 

hurtful controversies with one another — breathing to- 
wards each other the most crude asperities and cruel 
animosities ] And is it not true, that one has preach- 
ed what another, in, and to the same congregation, 
has contradicted and exposed, as unsound and dan* 
gerous ; by which questions which gender strife, have # 
abounded ] And has not all this passed off too, without 
any effort to correct the evil, or to reconcile these in- 
considerate brethren 1 

" Does it not then, brethren, behoove us to inquire, 
with great earnestness, for the causes of these afflic- 
tions % And on close examination, will they not be 
found, mostly, if not altogether, in the following par- 
ticulars % 

" 1. In a iv ant of carefulness in the admission of 
members. 

" By a cursory review of the New Testament 
churches, it will be readily seen, that they were all 
constituted of believers in Christ alone, such as were 
called to be saints — all of one heart and one soul : — 
that the first churches were patterns for all others, 
which should be built up. Hence the church in Thes- 
salonica was commended, for becoming followers of 
those which were in Judea. That they kept a close 
guard at the door of admission, whose vigilance the 
unworthy and designing had to escape and creep in 
unawares ; but they soon found themselves in so hot 
a bed, that they went out of their own accord. And 
such would have been the effect even till note, if the 
standard had been kept up equally high. But alas ! 
even in the apostles' days, the mystery of iniquity 
was at work ; and the standard of godly practice was 
soon lowered, so that men of corrupt minds and loose 
morals could live in the churches ; and they were cor- 






JESSE MERCER. 257 

rupted in their pristine simplicity, unity and beauty, 
they had in Christ, and became the subjects of severe 
rebukes, and were even threatened with extinction ! 

" Now were not all these things written for our ad- 
monition, to the intent that we should be careful to 
admit into the churches of Christ, none hut such as 
give good evidence of being one spirit with the Lord, 
and members in particular with his body ? — lest wo 
should incur the displeasure they incurred ; and that 
too denounced against Israel, (probably the churches 
in our day were in the prophet's eye,) Ezek. 44: 6, 7. 
Thus saith the Lord God ; O ye house of Israel, let 
it suffice you of all your abominations ; in that ye have 
brought into my sanctuary, strangers, uncircumcised 
in heart and uncircumcised infiesh, to be in my sanc- 
tuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my 
bread, the fat and the blood ; and they have broken 
my covenant, because of all your abominations. And 
ye have not kept the charge of my holy things. This 
last complaint plainly shows, 

" 2. The want of a close and godB-lj discipline. 

"Christ, as head of his church, has constituted the 
power to govern in the body, according to his laws, 
for edification, and not destruction ; for the preserva- 
tion of the churches in purity, unity, and peace. But 
when discipline is neglected or loosely executed, the 
exact opposite state of things must ensue. Corrupt 
men, suffered or tolerated in the churches, will seek 
their own level, and like the old leaven, will corrode 
and corrupt the whole body, and tend to more ungod- 
liness ; till, by their number and influence, the church, 
at this or that place, may become a mere toorldly 
sanctuary, or a synagogue of Satan, These delete- 

12* 



258 MEMOIRS OF 

rious effects, it is believed, will be found to grow very 
much out of, 

" 3. An inefficient ministry. 

" The gospel ministry, in all its grades, was given 
to, and constituted in, the church, to bring all in the 
unity of the faith, unto the stature of the fulness of 
Christ. But it must be obvious to any one, that such 
an end can never be accomplished by a ivcak, conten- 
tious, and divided ministry. Say what we may of the 
church's power to govern, and even to govern her 
ministers ; and yet it ivill he true, that ministers give 
tone and impulse to public feeling, direction and ener- 
gy to public spirit, and power and efficiency to public 
effort. The corruptions and errors of Israel are 
charged on her prophets, who, refusing to speak the 
word of the Lord fait/ fully, saw vain visions of peace, 
and taught out of the imagination of their evil heart. 
And the divisions and offences, which rent, with fierce 
controversies, the churches at Antioch, Corinth, Ga- 
latia, Cappadocia, Bythinia, and Asia, are charged to 
those ministers who preached doctrines contrary to 
that taught by the apostles. Against these, not only 
foreign, but also of their own selves, the churches were 
cautioned, warned, reproved, and even threatened. 
And shall we be inattentive to these things ] Similar 
causes will produce similar effects. Therefore, as is 
the ministry, such will be the churches. If ministers 
are inefficient, the churches will be weak and waver- 
ing : if ministers are in controversy among them- 
selves, the churches will be in confusion : if ministers 
break asunder, the churches will divide, and fall into 
party feuds. And are not these things so ? Have 
we not, brethren, reason to take the apostolic caution : 



JESSE MERCEfi. 2§9 

f ye bile and devour one another ; take heed that ye be 
not consumed one of another ? Surely, in the plaintive 
strain of the weeping prophet, we should inquire.: 
Is there no balm in Gilead ; is there no physician 
there 1 Why then is not the health of the daughter 
of my people recovered ? Let us examine prayerfully 
and practically, and see if the health of the churches 
cannot be found in, 

" 1. A more careful regard to an elevated standard 
of faith and piety, in the experience and character of 
those who are received to membership among us. 

"All bodies derive their qualities from the ele- 
ments of which they are composed. No church, 
therefore, can be more righteous and holy, than the 
members individually are. Then if the church is the 
beauty of holiness, the members must be beautified 
with salvation. If the church is one body, each mem- 
ber must have one heart and one soul. If the church 
is the Lord our righteousness, the members must all 
be one spirit with the Lord. And if the church is the 
light of the too rid, and the joy of the whole earth, 
each member must be light in the Lord, and glow 
with a sacred passion to make him known to the ends 
of the earth. 

" When due care is had that the members of the 
churches arc all righteous ; and discipline is every- 
where duly executed in the right spirit, then the stan- 
dard of holiness to the Lord will be elevated, and 
true godliness promoted, till a state of efficient, prac- 
tical piety will exhibit the churches as a company of 
horses in Tharaoli's chariots ; and terrible as an army 
with banners. But to effectuate this, we believe will 
require, 

" 2. A more cateTul attention to the qualifications 



260 MEMOIRS OF 

and faithfulness of those who are preferred among us 
to the gospel ministry. 

" Nothing can be more certain, than if the churches 
are ever raised to be holiness unto the Lord, the ability 
and fidelity requisite, must be sought for in the con- 
stitution of ministers. — And wherever this is neglect- 
ed, the consequences must be most deleterious to the 
purity, unity and peace of the churches. Let none 
say, ' God will qualify his ministers — he will give 
them matter and form. 9 This, we fear, is the very 
spirit that ruined Israel; they cried peace, 2 )eace > 
when there ivas no peace / Something must be prac- 
tically and 'efficiently done to remedy the evils among 
us. It is now generally conceded, that both miracle 
and the inspiration of the truth, ceased with the Apos- 
tles. If so, ministers now have no just dependence 
on inspiration for what they preach : only as they are 
instructed to understand the truth, from the inspired 
scriptures. This shows the importance of education, 
which seems to be the scripture plan. Those sent 
out by the Apostles incurred blame, in that they 
taught what they were not commanded; proving 
plainly enough, that they were authorized to preach 
nothing but what they were taught. — Thus Paul in- 
structed Timothy and Titus to i^reach and teach the 
tilings (not with which they were inspired, but those) 
they had heard and learned of him ; and to commit 
them to those men only who were able and faithful to 
teach others also, as they had been taught. And 
Christ lays down the same rule in Matt. 13 : 52. Ev- 
ery scribe instructed (not inspired) into the kingdom oj 
heaven, (or the gospel of Christ,) is like unto a house- 
holder, ivho bringeth out of his treasures things new 
and old. 



jesse Mercer. 26i 

" And surely, it is just as senseless to send out a 
rriari to preach the gospel which he had never been 
taught, with any expectation of his teaching it cor- 
rectly, as it would be to employ a man to teach all 
the branches of a refined education, who had never 
studied their elementary principles.-— But it may be 
asked — does not God do more for the one than for 
the other ! Yes, blessed be his name ! he does. — He 
gives to the man he calls into the ministry, his holy 
Spirit to impress and lead his mind to the work, to 
elevate and open his understanding in the study of 
the scriptures, to know and receive the truth, and 
aptness to impart it to others. And to secure faith- 
fulness in the discharge of the duties of this highly 
responsible office, he gives, not only the spirit of fear, 
but of pozver, and of love, anal of a sound mind. But 
that man might as well be expected to know and ex- 
plain all the beauties of nature, whose eyes*had never 
been opened on its volume, as for a minister to preach 
the truth as it is in Jesus, who neither knows nor stu- 
dies the scriptures. Nor can he else preserve the 
?ninistry from blame by knoidedge, or show himself 
approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be 
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

" Besides, the results to be had by the gospel min- 
istry, are such as can never be attained, unless purity 
in knowledge, unity in design and purpose, and fidel- 
ity in practice be first found in the ministers. They 
must be taught all to speak the same things ; they 
must become sensible to mutual obligations, and the 
importance of unity in effort. And when ministers, 
of every degree, shall be found in unity, all workers 
together with the Lord, all pulling at once, and the 
same way ; none too selfish to receive help — too 



262 MEMOIRS OF 

proud to be taught — too wise to learn — too indepen- 
dent to submit — nor too great to be least ; but all 
studying to he prepared to do the work of the Lord — 
meditating diligently on the things taught in his word 
— and wholly giving themselves to them, that their 
profiting (not their greatness) may appear to all ; 
then the standard of christian morality will be ele- 
vated, and the churches will all fall into regular ranks 
under its flying banners ; and ' onward' shall be heard 
from every camp of our Israel, till they all come, in 
the unity of the faith, and of the knoivledge of the 
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure 

OF THE STATURE OF THE FULNESS OF ClIRIST. 

iil Pastors and churches then, 
All with united Uen, 

Wrap'd in seraphic flame, 
God and the Lamb to praise, 
Shall shout through endless day? B 
The long — the loud amen.' 

"Jesse Mercer, Moderator.'' 

In consideration of the important service rendered 
by Mr. Mercer to the cause of Christ, by his able ex- 
position from time to time of the principles of gospel 
discipline, a silver medal, containing appropriate in- 
scriptions, was presented him by some of his breth- 
ren in 1836. Subjoined, is an extract from the letter 
which accompanied the medal. 

" TalboUon, May 1, 1336. 
"Brother Mercer, 

" Inclosed, is a small medal which has been com- 
mitted to my care for you. It was prepared by the 
direction of brethren in the Central Association, and 



JESSE MERCER. 263 

sent by them as a token of their regard for you, 
Though the medal is marked as from ' the C. A. &c.,' 
it is truly from certain brethren of that body, as stated 
above, and not from the body itself. We hope you 
will accept it with this explanation, and receive it in 
the same spirit of friendship which prompted us to 
offer it. 

W W TO TO TO 

" Yours truly, 

"J. H. Campbell," 

The discussions which were carried on for several 
years, through the columns of the Index, and other 
channels, and in which the subject of this memoir 
took a distinguished part, tended greatly to settle the 
churches in correct views of many important princi- 
ples, and particularly those relating to church and as- 
sociational powers ; still it was evident that some- 
thing farther was necessary to remove deep-seated 
prejudices, soften down excited feelings, and bring 
the scattered ranks of the brethren into useful and 
affectionate co-operation. From time to time, sug- 
gestions were made in favor of a general ministers' 
meeting, in hope that by the united prayers and coun- 
sels of such an assembly, some effectual balm might 
be found for Zion's bleeding wounds. For a while, 
these recommendations received but little attention ; 
but at length, they were revived and urged in such a 
manner as to secure a respectable meeting of minis- 
ters at the village of Forsyth, in July, 1836. Mr. 
Mercer's feelings were much enlisted in the meeting ; 
he brought to it the unimpaired strength of his great 
mind, the aid of his golden counsels, and the unction 
of a sweet and heavenly temper. If any good re- 



264 memo ins of 

suited from that meeting, (and that its influence has 
been salutary and lasting, no reasonable doubt can be 
entertained,) much of it may justly be ascribed to the 
prudent zeal and matured wisdom of Mr. Mercer. 
Though the attendance was not as full as could have 
been desired, and some little incidents occurred dur- 
ing the progress of the meeting, not altogether the 
most agreeable, yet on the whole, it was a memora- 
ble occasion. There was a free and profitable inter- 
change of views upon many important subjects ; the 
mingled tears of penitence and christian affection 
were seen to flow; mutual acknowledgments were 
made by many, and mutual forgiveness sought and 
extended ; and many fervent prayers ascended to the 
God of Israel, that the hurt of the daughter of his 
people might be healed. " It was a sight on which 
angels could not but look with peculiar delight, to 
see those, who, for years, had been cold and distant, 
who had thought and spoken hard things against their 
brethren, and even cast out their names as evil, ac- 
knowledging their errors with tears, and begging 
pardon. The readiness with which it was granted, 
melted all in the house. Every eye was wet, and 
every heart fall. The feelings of that hour more 
than compensated for all the toils and difficulties of 
attending the meeting. All seemed to feel, * I'm glad 
I come."* From that time, the work of conciliation 
has been steadily and successfully progressing ; min- 
isters, and churches, and associations, have gradually 
flowed into pleasant correspondence and fellowship ; 
so that at the present, with the exception of our anti- 
missionary brethren, and a comparatively small num- 

* An extract from the minuteg of the Forsyth meeting. 



JESSE MERCER. 265 

ber of churches who lean to free-will sentiments, the 
Baptists of Georgia present, in a highly encouraging 
degree, the aspect of a harmonious and united people. 

Several other ministers' meetings were held from 
time to time, attended with consequences more 01 less 
beneficial ; and in which the aid of Mr. Mercer was 
still conspicuous. He was much in favor of a per- 
manent organization, which should imbody, as far as 
possible, the Baptist ministers of the state, and bring 
them regularly together for the purpose of pious con- 
sultation and fraternal intercourse. He was well con- 
vinced, and upon the most conclusive grounds, that 
the strife of the churches had originated mainly in 
the contentions of ministers, and that no better ex- 
pedient could be devised to draw together the scat- 
tered flock, than to secure unanimity of feeling, sen- 
timent and action amongst the shepherds of the flock. 
A State Ministers' Meeting was organized at Eaton- 
ton, in October, 1838; but it was found exceedingly 
difficult to secure a general attendance at any of its 
subsequent sessions, and in two or three years, it lan- 
guished into non existence. 

In accordance with a previous appointment, Mr. 
Mercer preached a discourse at Eatonton, at the time 
above specified, on " the importance of union amongst 
ministers of the gospel ;" and at the particular re- 
quest of the meeting before whom it was delivered, 
it was afterwards published. The sermon is founded 
on John 17 : 11. "Holy Father, keep through thine 
own name, those whom thou hast given me, that they 
may be one as we are one." It abounds in rich and 
original thought, and forcibly illustrates the nature of 
that union which should exist amongst ministers, and 
the great importance of maintaining it in full and 



266 MEMOIRS OF 

constant vigor. A few of the concluding pages are 
here subjoined. 

" To conclude, — If the position taken at first, name- 
ly, that ministers form a distinct class in the church 
of Christ, with separate and peculiar obligations and 
duties, has been established ; and the nature and ex- 
tent of their unity have been correctly defined, as 
suggested in the text, then it must be obvious to the 
slightest review, that the manner of rearing up minis- 
ters, and of the general course of the ministry in our 
denomination, in Georgia at least, has been very de- 
fective. Theirs has been, for the most part, an iso- 
lated and individual course, thrown entirely on j^cr- 
sonal, or at most, on ecclesiastical responsibility. This 
defected state of things among us, I will attempt to il- 
lustrate by the following similes. And 

" 1. A king stations a garrison well officered and 
defended, in the midst of a revolted colony, in order 
to redeem and bring back by kindness, his rebellious 
subjects to loyal submission. He commits to these 
officers the terms of peace, and gives them authority 
to establish new garrisons, and commission other offi- 
cers, as the case might require. These officers pro- 
ceed on their mission, with due deference to the hon- 
or of their sovereign ; and many of the colonists re- 
turn to their allegiance ; and new garrisons are set- 
tled, and officers are commissioned. All things for a 
while, went on very well. In appointing to office, 
they were careful to select such men as gave full evi- 
dence of a sound reformation, and a just regard for 
the laws, government, and honor of the king ; and 
who possessed such abilities and dispositions as fitted 
them for the execution of the duties of their office, 



JESSE MERCER. 267 

and an honorable association with themselves in sus- 
taining the government, peace and happiness of the 
realm. But in process of time, the officers who were 
in those days, became careless in this department of 
their duty, and commissioned any who were present- 
ed to them by the garrisons, who, in like manner, had 
become indifferent, with little regard to their qualifi- 
cations for office, or their attachments to the govern- 
ment and honor of the king. So the garrisons were 
satisfied, all was well, throwing the whole responsi- 
bility on the incumbents and the garrisons. — Thus the 
officers soon became vain, self-conceited and proud. 
Strife was engendered among themselves and the gar- 
risons ; and the garrisons soon enlisted for their re- 
spective partizans ; and so the whole colony was 
filled with internal broil and confusion. How pic- 
turesque of the present state of things among us ! 

" Have not many Presbyteries ordained men to the 
gospel ministry, purely on their own and the respon- 
sibility of the churches to which they belonged, with 
very little, if any inquiry into their qualifications for 
the sacred office ; or the obligations they felt for the 
honor of God, or the ministry into which they were 
being put ] And 

" 2. I ask, if our ministry do not present a likeness 
to a drove of pack-horses on an Indian trail, each go- 
ing: in his own chosen path, rather than a well har- 
nessed and orderly team, moving in concert] 

" Permit me here to state some of my own reflec- 
tions : I was much impressed at the Ministers' Meet- 
ing last summer, at Harmony, and still am, with one 
feature of Israel's backslidden state, as alleged by 
Isaiah 53 : 6. * All we, like sheep, have gone astray ; 
we have turned everyone to his own way? W, thought 



MEV 

I. being tame n way, was descrip- 

tive of a revolts in Israel, what must be r. 

the state of the ministry in our denomination in Geor- 
gia ? M 3 with great propriety, that 
we have turned every one to his ou : Have we 
not lost all union of effort ? Our brethren cannot be 
prevailed on to come together for ministerial cor. 
tation and co-operation., even in these day- of Z ion's 
afflictions. And why ! even because they are turned, 
■■/ o/ie to his own way ! — Each one has his own ap- 
tmenfs t o fill . an 1 e e tin gs must be 
:,ded ; and so he cannot go to a ministers' meet- 
But let ::nd- 
ness. and let him answer in the spirit of candor 
his secular business pressed him to go to mar. 
would he not leave all and go ? And if he had rela- 
r in ane: :e, and he felt a 
sta . Dg inclination to visit them, would he t 
and go ? And even if he took it into his head t 
a land hunting, (perhaps on speci would not 
some .."land go I Eat -you cannot 

led to lea i a Ministers' Meet- 

exultation, with a view to un: 
and vigorous effort to stop discord, and 
pre in the chi u 

• I am fully in: all 

the strife and confusion which now abound among 

3S, may be traced to the want 
of a well organized rial union. Or, in other 

f our order in t h 
. formed a ?rs" Meeting-, with a vi 

to maintain the _ the faith in the churches ; 

and had . eted in :~ ministry, all 

those di- . which have broken the 



JESSE MERCER. 269 

peace and spoiled the beauty of our churches, would 
have been prevented, and the churches continued in 
peace and love. 

" Let me then beseech you, brethren, now though 
very late, to rally around the standard of your Lord 
and Master. There may be yet a redeeming spirit 
in the divine order, if speedily adopted, by which the 
plague may be stayed, and many be recovered from 
its pernicious and deadly influence. What can be 
better suited, instrumentally, to arrest and redress the 
evils which are now rending the churches, than the 
combined union and co-operation of all the ministers 
in the state 1 Let all the ministers who are of one 
heart and one soul, not only in the great scheme of sal- 
vation by grace alone, but in the points of practice 
now in question, come together with one consent, and 
let their light shine in unison ; let them bring their 
united efforts to bear on the cause, and by every con- 
sideration which the laws of truth and brotherly kind- 
ness can urge, endeavor to persuade and convince, 
and bring back their brethren to reconciliation, peace, 
and love : and surely it may be hoped in the Lord, 
that many will pause and consider, and return to good 
order, and seek that fellowship again, which they had 
so wantonly thrown away. 

" I am aware of the difficulties which lie in the way 
of bringing about this practical union and co-opera- 
tion of the Ministers in the Churches, because our 
young ministers have mainly had the rearing of them- 
selves in the Churches, as circumstances provided ; 
(for really the churches have taken but little care 
upon themselves about it) and they have been so long 
accustomed to direct their own course, according to 
their own counsel, that it will be hard to bring them 



270 MEMOIRS OF 

to submit to the discipline of a Ministerial Union, and 
to act only in harmony with the body of Ministers. 
For many ministers, especially young ones, seem to 
have a peculiar fondness for a solitary course. They 
are seldom seen at a General Meeting:; or, where 
they will be brought in contact with older Ministers. 
I suppose they feel best and most free when ihey are 
alone, or only in company with those whom they 
consider their inferiors ; but surely, it is contrary to 
the plan of our Lord, as well as to the dictates of 
wisdom and common sense, and well calculated to 
gender strife and create jealousies and parties, 
and so to bring up divisions among Ministers and 
Churches. 

" There is another evil to overcome. It is this : — - 
The Churches love to have it so. On the one hand, 
it frees them from much labor and care, in bringing 
forward their licentiates into the ministry ; and on the 
other, it gives them the privilege, nay, the right to 
control the labors of their ministers, which they will 
be reluctant to abridge in the least, even so as to give 
them the opportunity to attend a Ministers' Meeting. 
'Tis true, Ministers are members in the churches, and 
amenable to their authority, so far as discipline and 
good order is concerned ; but they should think this 
again, that Ministers were not given merely for their 
internal benefit ; but, for the ivorh of the Ministry, 
and the up-building of the whole body of Christ, and 
that any use they may make of them which will de- 
tract from this is wrong, and derogatory to the claims 
of their Lord. Although it may seem comfortable to 
retain ministers at home, when there seems to be so 
much need of them, yet if hindering them from at- 
tending Ministers' Meetings, should be promotive of Imp 



JESSE MERCER. 271 

discord among Ministers and Churches, will not the 
evil be justly chargeable on the hindering causes ] 

" Will not Ministers and Churches wake up to the 
important work which lies on them — the work of the 
Ministry ? And what is it 1 But the whole work 
which God has determined should be instrumentally 
done, to the ends of the ivorld- — and which cannot be 
accomplished, 

" 'Till all the ransom'd Church of God, 
Be sav'd, to sin no more.' 

" In the accomplishment of this sacred design, the 
Father and the Son are at work ; and all ministers, 
as laborers together with them, are called upon to be 
up and doing the work of the day, because the night 
cometh wherein no man can work. Let us then, 
Brethren, arise ; be united in one ; and be ready for 
every good word and work. And may the Lord our 
God be with us, and bless us, who is our only joy and 
strength ; and to his name be all the glory, for ever 
and ever. Amen." 

The three following letters were addressed to a 
worthy ministering brother, whose mind had been 
much perplexed upon certain doctrinal points, and 
who had been seriously involved in some of the diffi- 
culties which had so long disturbed the peace of the 
churches. 

Washington, Sept. 26, 1836. 
' Dear Brother B. 

"I have had it in mind to write you a few lines 
wer since we parted at F. I was afflicted at that 
neeting by the spirit manifested by some brethren 



272 MEMOIRS OF 

towards those of the N. Association ; and pleased 
at the more Christian temper of those brethren. I 
hope they will not be disposed not to attend the next 
by reason of such treatment. Though you differ from 
most of the brethren in regard to faith in some parti- 
cular points, I am not prepared to believe you so far 
gone as to be irreclaimable. 

" As well as I recollect, the article on Election, in 
the system adopted by your Association, holds elec- 
tion through sanctif cation of the Spi?'it, &c. This I 
think is an error. If you will examine 2 Thes. 2: 13. 
and 1 Peter 1 : 2. you will find that Election is unto 
salvation and obedience, which salvation and obedience 
are through sanctification of the Spirit, &c. But what 
is worse, the Association sermon, published by re- 
quest, is an effort to set aside personal election. Now 
if election is not of persons, but a character, then I 
cannot see how any one could be saved by it ; be- 
cause God could not choose an unholy character, and 
no sinner could get into [a holy] one, and therefore 
could not be saved by it. By examination, you will 
see election (and its kindred doctrine, predestination) 
always holds an end in view. That end is to he holy 
— to he conformed to the image of Christ — to he saved 
—obedience — adoption, &c. Now without contradic- 
tion the act must be before the end proposed by that 
act ; or the design must follow the purpose ; so that 
election must be anterior to our conversion to God. 
And you can but see that the end or design of an act, 
cannot be the condition of that act. But I need not 
argue the case with you. I only w T ish you to consider 
the Scripture in its own light, and strive to bring your 
mind to a willingness to receive the doctrine taught 
therein without the rule of your own reason. 



JESSE MERCER, 273 

^ Surely the truth of the Scripture, as it is in Jesus, 
is plain enough to enable those who are under the 
influence and guidance of the Holy Spirit, so far to 
agree, as that they may walk together in holy fellow- 
ship. It is always at least worth the effort to attain. 
And now it seems that those more antinomian are 
determined to break off on the score of missions, &c. 
It is then the more important that those united in the 
benevolent operations should strive, and strive hard, 
to be of one mind in all other essential truth, that 
they may labor together in the great cause of God 
and Christ, and human happiness. 

" I am informed that many churches have determin- 
ed, and declared non-fellowship with all benevolent 
societies ; that Br. M. has taken sides, and aided if 
not induced the O. Association to so declare. This 
measure will divide and tear to pieces their own 
ranks ! I hope this very thing will be the means of 
opening fhe eyes of many who have heretofore been 
blinded by the cry of ' faith ! faith V 

■Tfr W TV" "W •K' 

"Now brother, do lay aside every stumbling block, 
and come up to the meeting at C. ; influence as many 
of your brethren in the ministry to come as^you can, 
and come in hope of better treatment ; or if you 
should meet worse, to bear it as good soldiers of 
Jesus Christ. Come any how. 

"I have written to Br. S. and entreated him to 
come. I long after you all m the Gospel. 
" I am, dear brother, 

'Yours in Christ. 

"Jesse Mercer." 



13 



274 MEMOIRS OF 

" Washington, June 23, lo38. 
"Dear Brother B. 

" Your very kind and affectionate letter of 18th 
inst. was received and read a day or two since, with 
great interest. This was because, first, I love you, 
and secondly, because I find you in perplexity, and 
know not what to do. And now, my dear brother, 
what shall I say to you ] You are not satisfied with 
the U. Association ; well, I fear they are gone too far 
in opposition to the truth, as well as become negligent 
and careless as to measures necessary to a return of 

peace. The brethren who remain, are different 

from what they were, but I fear they (many of them) 
are not over half converted. Your best resort is to 
fall in with the C. brethren, as I judge. But there, a 
difficulty at once meets you. You would have to 
come up square-toed to all their articles of faith * with- 
out note or comment.' You say, though you cannot 
go the full length of their faith, yet you feel no dis- 
position to oppose, and their preaching is as your own. 
Perhaps you would (should you try it) not find so 
much difficulty as you fear. For my own part, I 
never was of the opinion, that a single point or article 
of faith should be made a test of fellowship. Opposi- 
tion to any point would break fellowship ; but so 
long as a good brother would admit, though he could 
not understand a doctrine in a particular way, I should 
be in favor of holding him in fellowship. 

" You seem to think there is a discrepance between 
the holding and the preaching of the Central breth- 
ren. There may be in some. But you [know that] 
many hold predestination, sovereign and eternal, con- 
sistent with man's free agency, and entire accounta- 



JESSE MERCER. 275 

bility. There is a state of things, as they lie before 
God, which is as determinate and as unchangeable as 
God himself; and there is another state of things, 
which lie in the department of the divine administra- 
tion, and in which the dispensation of the Gospel 
proceeds, and in which men are treated as rational 
and intelligent beings. Now, though we may not be 
able to decipher and explain the line which separates 
these two states of things, we may find evidence 
sufficient of their existence, and should yield to the 
conviction of their truth* 

^u «u> Jfc * J& .y- 

■7P *7V" 'TV' W TV 

" Dear Brother, I have written you a few crude 
thoughts. I fear they will do you no good ; but I 
pray to God he will direct you in the true and the 
right way. Although I think you would do well, 
perhaps best, to unite with the Central brethren, yet 
do all you do in the fear of God, which is the begin- 
ning of wisdom. If I can be of any use to you, it 
will afford me pleasure at all times to do you service. 
" I am yours in Christ, 

" Jesse Mercer." 

" Washington, Nov. 14, 1838. 
** My Dear Brother and longed for, 

" I received your very interesting letter of 29th 
ult. and have let it lie by, thinking that I should 
write. Truly I desire peace and righteousness to 
abound amongst all God's people ; but I find it much 
easier to sunder, and keep at a distance, than to come 
together when once parted. Asperities and bitter- 
ness arise, and an indifference even to be united ; or 
alienation of even Christian affections springs up and 
grows stubborn. Big I, and little you, or selfishness, 



276 MEMOIRS OF 

is hard to be subdued. I fear that some of the 

brethren will never come to that humility, which is 
needful to a union among all the parties. Also some 
of those of the U. A. are in the same case of stiffness. 
But all must be humbled. I am happy to find you are 
so moved on this subject, and rejoice in the course 
you have taken. I highly approve of the efforts 
made and making to reconcile the churches in the 
vicinity of each other. This is the right way to 

bring about a more general union. 

* # # # * 

" I think I am as much disposed to keep off the 

fu^k of fatality as you, or any one else. I believe in 

the doctrine of predestination and election, and the 

certain and sure performance of all God's purposes ; 

and yet I believe they are to be effected strictly in 

accordance with the responsibilities and free choice 

of men, so far as they are concerned. God does not 

operate on men as matter, but as rational creatures ; 

and his influences are designed to bring them to act 

according to the abilities which he gave them, freely. 

But I do not believe them less sure. As to the 

Missionary Baptists uniting upon the principle of 

mutual forbearance, or l think and let think,' I should 

have no objection if the limit could be fixed so as 

that the liberty would not tend to licentiousness, and 

presently [mischief] break out worse than ever. We 

never can agree, (I speak for myself,) to a latitude of 

liberality, which would allow of opposition to those 

doctrines. 

# # # * 

" And what shall I more say ? I know not what. 

May the Lord, the Prince of peace direct all our 

hearts into the love of God, and a patient waiting 

for his presence amongst us. 



JESSE MERCER. 211 

" Our State Ministers' Meeting is to commence on 
Thursday of next week, to which I intend to go, if 
permitted. Shall I see you there ] I think it would 
tend to incline the ministers favorably towards you, 
and might give some new impulse. Wishing you 
much grace and blessing, I am, dear Brother, 

" Yours, in Christ our Lord and Saviour, 

" Jesse Mercer." 

The following letter was addressed to a highly 
esteemed and valuable brother in the ministry, (now 
no more,) who, in consequence of what he deemed 
some improper proceedings of the Association with 
which he was connected, had withdrawn himself in a 
great measure from the society and councils of his 
brethren. It is to be hoped that it will be read with 
profit by every individual, who, under similar cir- 
cumstances, might be tempted to pursue the same 
injudicious course. 

" Washington, Dec. 8, 1838. 
f* My dear Brother L. 

"I have in 'the house of my pilgrimage' constant 
proof of my want of firmness ; for I find I am much 
better to resolve, than to fulfil my purposes when 
made. When I was at your house, (if I recollect 
rightly,) I told you I had often felt like harnessing up 
and coming right away to see you. When I said so, 
I said truly ; but how have I fulfilled ? For a long 
time now I have often thought I would write, but 
still I have neglected it. I have been no indifferent 
observer of things as they have transpired, in refer- 
ence to you. I assure you, brother, many an anxious 
thought — many an inquiry has gone up towards your 



27S MEMOIR- OF 

dwelling to ascertain how you were doing, and what 
were the most probable future prospects in reference 
to you; for 'My brother, I am much distressed for 
thee ; For very pleasant hast thou been to me.' I 
have been looking for your return from your volun- 
tary exilement, and that the ancient order of things 
would be restored amongst us a^ain: but a<rain I fear 
I shall be deceived ! O, that I may not be disap- 
pointed in this hope ! I cannot think of you as dead, 
but still I have thought, as somewhat applicable to 
you, on what was said of Enoch, ' he was not/ Me- 
thinks he had been a constant associate with the few 
pious cotemporaries of his day, (rendered probably 
the more precious by being few,) and labored so assi- 
duously in all the ways of piety and usefulness, 
known to them for the honor of God and mutual 
edification ; and the warning the wicked, (see Paul 
and Jude,) till he obtained among them ' this testi- 
mony that he pleased God ;' but it came to pass that 
1 lie teas not :' that is (I presume) he did not appear 
in their company as heretofore. This was a conspi- 
cuous — a notable ' was not.' His few pious brethren 
must have been grieved always when they met, to find 
that Bro. Enoch was not in their midst — his seat was 
always empty. Alas ! * he was not.' This must have 
been a great grief to them, but how much greater 
must it have been if the cause had been any thing else 
but * God took him* 

" From the late revival in which you shared so 
largely, I hoped to see your youth renewed, and to 
find you again in company; but alas ! still, he is not. 
In all our meetings for the promotion of the public 
good, or the general weal of the church or the world, 
it may be said of our dear brother L. he is not. 



JESSE MERCER. 279 

brother, can you be persuaded to come up to the help 
of your brethren — of God against the mighty, and the 
many who oppose all that is good, and virtuous, and 
true, and of good report. 

" I had also hoped that the fire of the revival at 
Antioch would have burned up all the old leaven, 
which had been working strife and division in it for 
years past, but in this too I fear I am disappointed. 
Opposition, I hear, is still working and warring in it. 
Does it not strike you, brother L. that it is high time 
' that thou shouldest set in order the things that are 
wanting — and strengthen the things that remain V 
Permit me, my brother, to say that I fear, (as Whit- 
field said of himself to Wesley,) that you have been 
sinfully silent too long ! You have been hoping that 
things would get better, and have remained neutral — 
but your influence has not been neutral. It has been 
at work, and probably on the wrong side. When the 
temperance societies first began to form among us, I 
did not unite — not from opposition ; but I was not 
quite ready to put in. But I found my influence 
operated to encourage intemperance ! I therefore 
threw myself into the society to turn my influence 
(let it be what it might) into a useful channel. It is 
proper to watch lest while we essay to do good, ' our 
good may be evil spoken of,' and all our efforts to be 
useful be hindered or prove abortive. Surely the 
state of our churches in these days, calls for energetic 
effort to settle them again in peace. To sit still and 
sing a requiem to ourselves will not do. We must 
take sides, not to fight ; for direct opposition will be 
likely to make bad worse ! but to enlist a host that 
by silent influence may undermine the strong-hold of 
their opposition ! ! Some of us have thought a State 



^SU MEMOIRS OF 

Ministers* meeting might operate such an influence, 
as well as cultivate unity of sentiment and feeling in 
the ministry throughout the State ; but if we were 
right in this conclusion, we were baffled in our de- 
sign by the non-attendance of the brethren. The 
brethren who engaged last year in the constitution 
at Eatonton, did not one half attend at Macon the 
last month, and few others. Does it not commend 
itself to your mind that you could do greater good 
by uniting with your brethren, and he with them 
like a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariot ? I 
have a mind, as no general meeting falls on the fifth 
Sunday in March, to have a big meeting here. Will 
you come ? Where is brother N. ] Married — and 
therefore cannot come ! However, I wish him and 
his second-self all possible happiness in their hy- 
meneal union ; and that his helpmeet may be a 
helper to him in his ministry which he has received 
of the Lord. I had hoped from the movements I 
had heard of concerning brother G-. L., that he might 
be induced to think again and turn to his forsaken 
brethren. It is really a puzzle to me to imagine 
how a thinking Christian can take the course of the 
rending brethren and continue ! 

" I must close by saying, the time is short — it is 
high time to awake out of sleep. What remains to 
you and me to be done, must be soon done, or go 
undone for ever. May the Lord direct into the 
right way, and give strength to walk therein for his 
name's sake, is the prayer of one who is most 
" Respectfully, yours, 

" In the bonds of the Gospel, 

" Jesse Mercer,' 3 



JESSE MERCEIl. 281 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Mr. Mercer as a writer.— Speaking- the truth in love — His Ten 
Letters on the Atonement. — Extracts. — Sermon on the Excel- 
lency of the Knowledge of Christ, and extracts from the same.— 
Essay on Lord's Supper — History of Georgia Association. — 
Review of a certain Report. — Essay on Forgiveness of Sins. — 
Extracts from his Editorial pieces. 

Mr. Mercer was less distinguished as a writer than 
a preacher. He very seldom used his pen until he 
had arrived at that period of life when his intellectual 
habits had become fixed, and it could hardly be sup- 
posed that he would feel much inclined to expend 
labor in rounding his periods, and decorating his es- 
says with rhetorical beauties. He aimed at nothing 
more than a plain, concise, and scriptural exposition 
of his views. In this he was generally successful ; 
and indeed sometimes the natural force of his mind, 
and the strong flow of thought would carry him be- 
yond his simple aim, and impart uncommon vigor to 
his style, and now and then bear him into a strain of 
true sublimity. Few writers had equal power of con- 
densing a logical discussion, and of compassing weighty 
and useful instruction in few words. In this respect 
his composition bore a striking resemblance to his ex- 
temporaneous effusions, and was one of the natural 
effects, as well as a striking evidence of his intellect- 
ual strength. 

In his lengthy and studied productions, he has con- 
stant recourse to the word of God, illustrating his po- 
sitions by copious and pertinent selections from this 
great storehouse of divine wisdom. If his frequent 

13* 



282 MEMOIRS OF 

and lengthy quotations from the scriptures, detract 
from the value and interest of his productions in the 
view of some, others will esteem them more on this 
account, and especially when there is discovered in 
the application of scripture (as will be the case with 
attentive readers) not a tame imitation of commen- 
taries and theological compends, but the work of a 
thoughtful, independent, and original expositor of the 
word of God. 

In his controversial writings he would sometimes 
use expressions which might seem to savor somewhat 
of unkindness and asperity, and convey to some minds 
an erroneous impression of the real state of his feel- 
ings. In opposing what he conceived to be error, he 
was firm, independent and faithful ; and in his zeal for 
the truth he did not weigh every expression with that 
care which would have been desirable ; but no one 
could be more free from bitter and malignant feeling. 
His heart was deeply imbued with the spirit of love, 
forbearance and Christian kindness. In referring to 
some strictures on two of his brethren which had given 
offence, he remarked in a letter to a Christian brother, 
" If I might judge for myself I never wrote any stric- 
tures on any brethren with more kind feelings towards 
them. I was endeavoring to refute what I conceived 
to be mischievous errors, and not in personal abuse. 
It has been one of the first desires of my heart to be 
in a Christian sense, a good man, but to breathe a 
bitterness of temper abhorrent from the Gospel, is so 
abhorrent from my best wishes, that I am exceedingly 
pained to be thought to have it." In the same com- 
munication, referring to his connexion with the Chris- 
tian Index as Editor, he observes ; " Trie place of an 
Editor is very responsible and difficult. He must 



JESSE MERCER. 283 

judge of the communications sent from his patrons for 
publication, and give his mind and be faithful as one 
that must give account, and yet be kind, courteous, 
and brotherly towards all. O that I may ever speak 
the truth in love " 

Speaking the truth in love ! This is indeed a 
blessed maxim for the regulation of all the communi- 
cations of Christ's professed followers, whether they 
proceed from the pen, or from the lips. Were the 
spirit of this precept to insinuate itself into all their 
religious discussions, what a multitude of hurtful evils 
would be turned away from the cause of Christ. 
Bitterness brings no aid to the truth, and unkind words 
will not reclaim an erring brother. The heart should 
ever be full of Christian tenderness, and the lips should 
speak with prudence and moderation. In defending 
truth and opposing error, a man should be candid, 
faithful and fearless ; but he is still to remember that 
candor should be blended with courtesy, faithfulness 
with love, and boldness with a meek and humble spirit. 
It may be said that in extreme cases severity may be 
needful ; but even then it should rather be the seve- 
rity of truth and argument, of sound speech that can- 
not be condemned, than of keen and irritating words. 
The truth of these reflections must be obvious to all; 
and yet they are uttered at this time under the full 
persuasion that they are not as deeply felt by our 
brethren as they should be. Can it be denied that 
our denominational difficulties have been greatly ag- 
gravated by a want of proper conformity to these sen- 
timents % Even where there has existed the kindest 
feelings and the best intentions, harsh and unguarded 
expressions have fallen from the pen or the lips, which 
have given origin to new resentments and new com- 



284 memoirs or 

plaints ; or torn open some old wound that was just 
ready to heal. Our editorial brethren are often too 
caustic and too peevish ; speaking sometimes as Jesus 
would not speak, and as Paul would say was not 
11 lovely and of good report." If in some of these re- 
spects it may be said that our beloved Mercer was 
not altogether faultless, it certainly becomes all others 
less wise and holy, to watch with diligence and pray 
without ceasing that they enter not into the same 
temptation. 

Mr. Mercer's writings consist principally of Circular 
Letters, Essays on various subjects ; a few occasional 
sermons and controversial pieces which appeared from 
time to time in pamphlet form, or in the columns of 
periodicals ; with his various editorial effusions, and 
a few manuscript sermons which have never been 
published. 

In the preceding pages several of his productions 
have been briefly noticed, and numerous extracts from 
them presented to the reader, but there are others 
which claim a few passing remarks, and from which 
such further extracts will be made as may give a more 
ample view of his various religious opinions. 

It is not to be supposed that all will concur with 
Mr. Mercer in every theological opinion which he has 
expressed. He has left a record of his sentiments on 
a variety of subjects, some of them of acknowledged 
difficulty, and in regard to which, sentiments more or 
less dissimilar have been entertained by the wisest 
and best of men. It is presumed however, that the 
anxious inquirer after truth will consult the opinions 
of Mr. Mercer with interest and respectful attention, 
happy to find any of his own views confirmed by the 
conclusions of one so honest, original and profound ; 



JESSE MERCER. 285 

and scarcely willing to adhere to an important opinion 
that might conflict with the sentiments of one so uni- 
formly correct, without carefully reviewing the ground 
upon which it rests. 

About the close of 1829, Mr. Cyrus White publish- 
ed a pamphlet on the atonement which contained 
sentiments that were deemed unscriptural, and of a 
decidedly arminian tendency. As Mr. White had 
previously been employed as one of the missionaries 
of the Convention, the publication of his piece was 
considered by some of the opposers of that body as 
evidence in favor of their free and bold assertions, 
that the supporters of the benevolent plans of the 
day, were unsound in the faith. For the purpose 
of wresting this argument from their hands, as well as 
discouraging the circulation of sentiments which he 
considered unscriptural, Mr. Mercer wrote and pub- 
lished, in 1830, his Ten Letters on the Atonement. 

Every candid reader will be ready to admit that 
this is the production of no ordinary mind ; and that 
its author has presented many weighty and important 
views upon a subject of momentous interest, and in 
some of its aspects of great difficulty. 

Mr. Mercer's general views of the atonement may 
be learned from the following extracts from his second 
Letter : 

" In my last, I promised you some examination of 
your views on atonement. And first, you identify 
atonement with propitiation. This, though common 
among commentators, is in my mind, to confound 
cause and effect. Propitiation is what Christ is, as the 
Saviour of sinners — atonement is what he has made 
by the offering of himself to God for us. Propitiation 



286 MEMOIRS OF 

is the great plan of mercy itself — atonement is that 
reconciliation and peace, which he has obtained by 
his cross. Propitiation is the victim for sacrifice — 
atonement is the acceptance of that victim in the place 
of the transgressor. Propitiation is the redemption 
price — atonement is the acceptance of that price for 
the deliverance of the lawful captives. 

" These words have a strong and indissoluble con- 
nexion in scripture, and constitute the great scheme 
of mercy, as it is both by and through our Lord Jesus 
Christ ; and may sometimes be synonymously used, 
nevertheless they are strikingly different in significa- 
tion. The original import of these words, as they oc- 
cur in the New Testament, is distinct — though it is 
said, that in the Hebrew, they are both derived from 
words signifying to cover, as a lid, like the mercy-seat 
did the law in the ark of the testimony. Paul in 
Rom. 3 : 25. uses the very word for mercy-seat. ' Whom 
God hath set forth to he (hilasterion) the propitiatory ' 
which is to be approached ' through faith in his blood.' 
Thus Christ is the antitype of that grand symbolical 
system of divine communion made in the institution 
of the mercy-seat. John uses in his 1 Epis. 2 : 2. and 
in 4 : 10. a kindred word (hilasmos) which is the vic- 
tim, or sin-offering itself. But atonement is made by 
the offering of that victim acceptably to Grod. Thus in 
Rom. 5 & 11 chaps, (where the word alone occurs in 
the New Testament) (katallagen) the word usually ren- 
dered reconciliation, is used, and is expressive of what 
we receive by Christ through faith, and is evidently 
the effect of his propitiatory sacrifice. Your manner 
of treating it therefore, as a provision of life and par- 
don offered to sinners in the gospel, is not just ; for it 
is that very life and pardon obtained by the blood of 
the cross." 



JESSE MERCER. 287 

After referring to the sacrifices of the old dispensa- 
tion, the author adds : 

" I know of not an instance, where the sin-offering 
is called the atonement ; but always it is said to be 
made by the offering of it unto the Lord. Now then 
as atonement is received from the Lord Jesus Christ, 
it must be something which he has, as mediator, to be- 
stow ; and may be understood under the following 
different terms. 1. It is called reconciliation. Dan, 
9 : 24. ' To make reconciliation for iniquity.' Heb. 
2 : 17. ' Christ an High Priest in things pertaining to 
God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.' 
2. It is called peace. Col. 1 : 20. ' And having made 
"peace by the blood of his cross.' 3. It is called salva- 
tion. Heb. 5 : 9. ' And being made perfect (through 
sufferings) he became the author of eternal salvation 
unto all them that obey him.' Lastly. It is called 
redemption. Rom. 3 : 24. * Being justified freely by 
his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Je- 
sus.' Heb. 9 : 12. ' Christ by his own blood having 
once entered into the holy place, obtained eternal re- 
demption for us.' " 

After having laid down ihe scripture account of 
what he conceives atonement to be, Mr. M. then pro- 
ceeds to examine its relations. • 

"1. It relates to God. If Christ was set forth a 
propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare the 
righteousness of God in the remission of sins (Rom. 3 : 
25.) and if it became him, in bringing many sons to 
glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect 
through sufferings, (Heb. 2: 10.) without controversy 



:JSS MEMOIR- 

the atonement was necessary, in some way, that God 
might be just and justify the ungodly, (Rom. 4:5.) I 
do not like very well your idea that ' the atonement 
must be that, in its nature, which will render God 
propitious? Strictly speaking, God was never unpro- 
jntious. But sin was not only an offence to him, but 
had thrown obstructions in the way of his mercy. The 
atonement, therefore, must be that in its nature which 
will honor him in the view of all rational intelligences, 
in the vouchsafement of pardon and acceptance. This 
is fully established in the following texts. * Christ 
hath loved us and given himself for us, an offering and 
a sacrifice to God, for a sweet smelling savor.' (Eph. 
5 : 2.) ' "Who gave himself (to God) for us, that he 
might redeem us from all iniquity.' (Titus 2 : 14.) 
* How much more shall the blood of Christ, who 
through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot 
to God, — purge your consciences from dead works to 
serve the living God.' (Heb. 9 : 14.) ' Christ is also 
said to be High Priest in things pertaining to God, to 
make reconciliation for sins.' (Heb. 2 : 17.) These 
texts are in perfect accordance with the whole ritual 
service, where it will be seen, that all the offerings for 
sins were made to God to make reconciliation, or 
atonement for the transgressors. Thus says Fuller, 
1 Atonement has respect to justice, and justice to law, 
«or the revealed will of a sovereign, which has been 
violated ; and its very design is to repair its honor.' 
(See vol. 4. p. 266.) Thus Christ is the end of the 
law, or the fulfilment of it, for righteousness, or the 
atonement, to every one that believeth. 

" 2. It relates to God, in reference to the sins of 
those who are atoned for. As the scriptures connect 
the sins and the persons of those for whom atonement 



JESSE MERCER. 289 

is made, I choose to put the two together, where the 
scriptures have pieced them. And which will be seen 
clearly in the following texts. * Surely he hath borne 
our griefs, and carried our sorrows. He was wounded 
for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniqui- 
ties ; The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and 
with his strijpes toe are healed. All we like sheep have 
gone astray — we have turned every one to his own 
way ; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us 
all. When thou shalt make his soul an offeringjfor sin 
he shall see his seed — He shall see the travail of his 
soul and be satisfied : For he shall bear their iniquities. 
Because he hath poured out his soul unto death : and 
he was numbered with the transgressors; and he 
bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the 
transgressors? (Isa. 53d chap.) Seventy weeks are 
determined upon thy people to finish the transgression, 
and to make an end of sins. (Dan. 9 : 24.) Christ was 
delivered for our offences, and raised again for our 
justification. (Rom. 4 : 25.) And I delivered unto 
you, that which I received, how that Christ diedfor our 
sins, according to the scriptures. (1 Cor. 15 : 3.) Be- 
cause Christ also suffered for us : Who his own self 
bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we be- 
ing dead to sins, should live unto righteousness ; By 
whose stripes ye were healed. For Christ also hath 
once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he 
might bring us to God. (1 Peter 2 : 21, 24. 3 : 18.)' 
Thus the atonement is complete. It being a full satis- 
faction to the claims of divine justice, through the 
violated law, by the offence or demerit of sins. This 
complete satisfaction of the mediation of Christ is ex- 
pressed by — Chris fs being the end of the law — ful- 
filling the law — magnifying and making honorable the 



MEMOIR- 

. And the entire and full extent of Christ's sacrifice 

for the redemption of trai ns made under the 

late, being expressed by making reconciliation for 

'ity, an end of _ g ession and 

gimg our Bora h% The fulness of the 

atonement is not to be measured by the number saved ; 
but by its competency to save one Since it is 

not to be imparted a whole. If it 

pable ampli, sinner that believeth in 

Jesus, then it is of the same capacity to save to the 
uttermost all that come unto God by him. So that to 
talk of a limited atonement, is to talk of an atonement 

rt of the requisitions of Justice, and which leaves 
sin partially atoned for ! and which of an save 

no one — or it is to suppose it is administered by drops 
and that the merits of Christ can be exhausted; which 
I presume none will admit." 

In regard to the atonement's being considered in 
the light of a don, Mr. Mercer 

makes the following observation third letter. 

'• I :.iean to contend for the atonement, as a 

commercial transaction : but I mean to oppose the 
idea of a vague atonement. I must contend with 
lei that though we can/. ere at work 

of redemption as a commercial transaction betwixt 
a debtor and his creditor : yet the satisfaction of 
justice, in all ca- pud to what the 

nature of the offence is in reality — and to answer 
the tarn m if arty had actually suf- 

fered. And for Christ, as our substitute, to have 
less for us than we should if the law had 
takr uld be no atonement at all, and 



JESSE MERCER. 291 

leave us in our sins. I do not admire the distinction; 
nor do I believe any thing is really gained by it. It 
seems however, better calculated to fritter down the 
sufferings of Christ within the grasp of our compre- 
hension — to show they were not, in reality, what was 
required for sins, and to make them a shade, or re- 
presentation of what justice required, rather than to 
present them in their full view of infinite value. It 
ought, too, to be recollected what is impossible with 
men is possible with God. We poor limited creatures 
cannot tell what calculations infinite wisdom can 
make, nor what doings Almighty power can effect. 
The Scriptures do employ terms taken from commer- 
cial transactions to teach us our obligations on the 
one hand, and the greatness of salvation on the other. 
Our sins are figuratively called debts — the blood of 
Christ is our redemption price, and redemption itself 
is a commercial transaction. I see no reason, there- 
fore, why we should depart from it, nor any thing in 
it that renders Atonement impossible." 

Respecting the question whether the sinner has a 
right to claim salvation, as a matter of justice, on the 
score of the full atonement made by the Lord Jesus 
Christ, the author in the same letter thus expresses 
himself: 

" A. is cast into prison to suffer the just demerit of 
his crime. B. his Father, King and Judge pities him, 
and would release him, but the nature of the case 
forbids it. He has one only elder son, amiable, 
honorable and beloved, he proposes the case to him 
with its difficulties ; C. ponders the matter. He 
loves his Father — and pities his unfortunate brother, 



292 MEMOIRS OF 

and undertakes for him. The stipulations are all 
laid down and made sure between B. and C. ; — then 
C. throws himself into the breach betwixt B. and A ; 
assumes A.'s place and answers to all the claims of 
law and justice against him — sustains the honor and 
dignity of B. as King and Judge in this case, and lays 
the ground for peace and order in the kingdom. 
The application of this scale is easy to every one, 
who understands the gospel plan of redemption. 
Here full and complete satisfaction is made, but yet 
carries no claim of deliverance to A. ; he has had 
nothing to do in the matter, it is all grace to him. 
The scheme of his deliverance originated with B. his 
Father and King through the compliance of C. 
heartily yielded to the will of his Father. And 
though it is a matter of justice, according to the 
covenanted agreements, promises, and fulfilments be- 
tween B. and C. ; and these C. may of right plead, 
yet it leaves A. in all his sin and misery and under 
law and condemnation. Now you may see, though 
* the debt is fully discharged' — the satisfaction for sin 
is fully made, yet it affords to sinners no * claim to 
heaven on the principles of justice;' because it ori- 
ginated not with them, but with God, on whom they 
had no claims for compassion. Indeed, if they had 
procured for themselves a good and acceptable surety, 
who had made full satisfaction for their sins, they 
would — they must have had a just right to deliverance. 
But since they had no part in the scheme, but it was 
all of God — of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of 
God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and 
sanctif cation, and redemption, both the plan and the 
application of it are clearly of God, and is therefore, 
a matter of the merest mercy and free grace to sinners 



JESSE MERC EH. 293 

justly condemned under the law, and lying under its 
curse till they are quickened and made alive in Christ. 
Thus though their ' debt is fully discharged/ in the plan 
of Redemption as it lies with God, yet the Holy Ghost 
can, and does in conviction teach sinners, * that they 
are justly condemned, and that if they are saved, it 
must be by God's mercy alone.' For the Divine 
Spirit does not first teach men what they are in 
Christ Jesus, but what they are in themselves and 
under the violated law, and then, he presents to them 
Christ the propitiation, ' that by faith in his blood,' 
they may see the righteousness of God sustained in 
the remission of their sins." 

A sentence or two from the seventh Letter will 
give some of the author's views on the subject of 
human obligation and ability. After referring to 
some of Mr. W.'s peculiar views, he adds : 

" From all which, it is evident you believe, that sin 
has destroyed in man the principle of responsibility ; 
else he could not be free from obligation to obey God 
in any case ; for the want of natural ability alone, 
destroys moral obligation. If so, then sin has ren- 
dered disobedience no crime ! But is this true % If 
there be no obligation on man, as a sinner, then, there 
is no duty ; and where there is no duty, there is no 
law ; and where there is no law, there is no trans- 
gression; and where there is no transgression, there 
is no blame ; and consequently impenitence and un- 
belief are harmless things !" 

Farther on, he remarks ; 

" It would be well to observe, there is a natural 
and a moral ability. The one constitutes us account- 



^94 MEMOIRS OF 

able beings ; the other consists in well disposedness 
towards G od, our Maker, and fits us for duty. The 
loss of one destroys responsibility and frees from 
blame — the loss of the other makes us sinners and 
subjects us to guilt and condemnation." 

Mr. White professed to be of the sentiments of 
Fuller ; but it is evident that he did not fully under- 
stand the views of that profound theologian. Many 
of what Mr. Mercer regards as W.'s objectionable 
views, he fully answers by lengthy quotations from 
Mr. Fuller's controversy with Mr. Button and Phi- 
lanthropos. 

In the conclusion of his ninth Letter he makes the 
following observations on Fuller and Gill. 

" From the above it appears, that Mr. Fuller is not 
so opposed to Dr. Gill as many have thought. All 
that Fuller contends for, as to the infinite worth of 
the atonement, is comprehended in Gill's view of the 
scheme of redemption. What Gill places in the 
covenant transactions, and considers as past and done 
in the eternal mind, Fuller resolves into ' the sovereign 
pleasure of God, with a regard to the application of 
the atonement ; that is, with regard to the persons 
to ivhom it shall be applied? What then is the dif- 
ference ] A mere shade — a difference only in the 
modus operandi of the great plan. They are in per- 
fect harmony in the totality of human depravity — the 
necessity and efficiency of divine influence — the ful- 
ness and sufficiency of the covenant provision for, and 
the certain application of them to the salvation of the 
elect only. — The difference then, betwixt them is only 
speculative ; the agitation of which is much better 



JESSE MERCER. 295 

calculated to promote those oppositions of science 
falsely so called, or that philosophy and vain deceit, 
from which Paul so much dissuades, rather than 
Godly edifying." 

Space can only be allowed for two or three more 
short quotations from this work : they are from the 
last Letter. 

" You represent the* atonement precisely the same 
i to all the unbelievers in the world/ as * to the be- 
lievers ;' nay, more, as applying ' in the same sense,' 
to all those ' dead and in helV as to those * dead and in 
heaven before the Saviour died !! This is the same as 
to say, that all who have been hanged, since the pro- 
vision was made, in the law, to reprieve criminals, 
were, just as much interested in that provision, as 
those who were reprieved ; which is to affirm against 
fact, reason, common sense and truth. It makes the 
application of the atonement a nullity, and puts the 
believer and the unbeliever upon the same footing : 
and as it leaves unbelievers exposed ' to the impend- 
ing storm, which will burst with fury upon their 
heads in the awful day of accounts,' so it must leave 
all believers equally exposed to wrath ! Besides, it 
removes that line of difference, which the Scriptures 
have laid down between the righteous and the wicked : 
and subjects you to the severe rebuke of the rulers of 
Jerusalem. ' Her priests have violated my laws, and 
have profaned my holy things ; They have put no 
difference between the holy and profane, neither have 
they showed the difference between the unclean and 
the clean. , (Ezek. 22 : 26.) This is a very serious 
charge I" 



296 MEMOIRS OF 

• 9 * '# * 

" There is one other point, to which, I must call 
your attention before I close : It is the manner in 
which you treat a personal interest in the death of 
Christ. There is no subject so fraught with comfort 
to the Christian soul, as the dying love of Jesus : No 
feeling, so full of pleasure as a consciousness of in- 
terest in that love. When faith, working by love, is 
in full exercise, the happy soul sings for joy 

1 Ke hath loved me, I cried, he hath suffer'd and died, 
To redeem such a rebel as I !' 

u This was the joy of the ancient saints : ' Rejoice 
greatly, O Daughter of Sion ; shout, O Daughter of 
Jerusalem ; behold thy King cometh unto thee : he 
is just, and having salvation ; and riding upon an ass, 
and upon a colt the foal of an ass :' Zech. 9:9. This 
was the glorying of Paul. * God forbid,' said he, 'that 
I should glory save in the cross of Christ ; who loved 
me, and gave himself for me.' (Gal. 2 : 20. 6 : 14.) It 
is the joyful, and triumphant song of the redeemed 
both in earth and heaven ; ' Unto him that loved us, 
and hath washed us from our sins in his own blood, 
and hath made us kings and priests unto God and 
his Father ; to him be glory and dominion for ever 
and ever. Amen. And they sung a new song, saying, 
thou art worthy, for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed 
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and 
tongue, and nation, and people/ (Rev. 1 : 5, 6. 5 : 9.) 
But the view you take of this delightful subject, saps 
the foundation of all this holy joy : for if Christ has 
died equally for those in unbelief, as in faith, for those 
in hell, as for those in heaven, there can be no pro- 
priety in the joys of those who are saved, because 



JESSE MERCER. 207 

Jesus had died for them, when he had died * in the 
same sense] for those who are perished ! Common 
rights should never be the reason of peculiar joys.' ' 
# # * # # 
" That the sheep of Christ have a glorious interest 
in their shepherd's death, over the world, which lies 
in wickedness — that a believer has a part in the atone- 
ment, with which an infidel — a stranger, intermeddles 
not, is spread all over the face of Scripture. There 
is nothing plainer in the sacred pages than that men, 
before faith in Christ and the inspiration of his Holy 
Spirit, are dead in sins, wider the law and curse of 
God, without Christ and without hope and God in 
the world ; and as such, liable to eternal death ! It 
is false and deceptive to address men, in unbelief and 
impenitence, as the objects of Christ's death, as if 
they had a personal interest in him, and were re- 
deemed by his blood, any further than it regards them 
as sinners. It is true there is an objective fulness in 
Christ, of infinite worth, able to save to the uttermost, 
all that come unto God Wf him ; which forms the 
glad tidings of great joy — the substance of the gospel 
message — the object of faith — the fulness of the bless- 
ings of the gospel of Christ. But whatever this is ; 
it is in the Bible of God restricted to them that 
believe. Thus, Christ is set forth to be the propitia- 
tion through faith in his blood. The gospel is the 
power of God unto salvation to every one that be- 
lieveth. Christ is the end of the law for righteous- 
ness to every one that believeth. But he that believeth 
not shall be damned." 

It may here be proper to notice a discourse of Mr. 
Mercer's published in 1839, in the Southern Baptist 
Preacher, entitled the Excellency of the Knowledge of 

14 



298 MEMOIRS OF 

Christ Jesus the Lord. It is founded on Phil. 3 : 8. 
The author considers the excellency of the know- 
ledge of Christ as dependent upon the excellency of 
Christ himself, and illustrates that excellency as it re- 
lates, 1st, to his personal dignity ; and 2dly, to the 
value of his sacrifice. In discussing the 2d branch of 
his subject, he takes occasion to present some impor- 
tant thoughts upon the nature and design of the atone- 
ment. A few extracts are here subjoined, which in 
connexion with the selections already made from his 
Ten Letters, will give something like a general out- 
line of Mr. Mercer's sentiments on this interesting 
and momentous subject. 

" As the Apostle informs us, in his epistle to the 
Hebrews, especially in chap. 10 : 1 — 10. that Christ 
offered his body once for (or in lieu of) all sacrifices, 
we are safe in concluding that all the good things 
which were held forth in shadows to the family of Is- 
rael, are found essentially in Christ's atonement, and 
exhibited in the dispensmion of the gospel to man- 
kind. Let us examine the Levitical Economy, and 
see what atonements were made therein, and their 
uses, and then search for their analogies in the atone- 
ment made by our Lord. And 

" 1. There were sacrifices offered to make atone- 
ment for the sins of the whole house of Israel. This 
was done to preserve the nation, to avert divine judg- 
ments, and to establish among them the institutions of 
mercy. See Lev. 16 : 33, 34. Num. 8 : 19. 16 : 
46—50. 25 : 10—13. 

"2. Sacrifices were offered to make atonement for 
persons and things, to consecrate and sanctify them, 
and to make them suitable to be engaged in the work 
of God. See Lev. 16 : 16—19. 



•J 



JESSE MERCER. 299 

** Sacrifices were offered to make atonement for the 
sins of individuals. This was done to open a door of 
hope to those who were sensible of their sin, and bur- 
dened with their guilt before God, that they might 
seek and obtain pardon of sin, and peace of mind. 
See Lev. 1:4. 5:6—13. 

" Now all these benefits will in truth, be found in 
the dispensation of the gospel to mankind, * Through 
the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.' There is 
in all this a main design, which is the certain salvation 
of all God's spiritual Israel. Other things, no less 
obtained through the atonement, made by the shed- 
ding of the blood of Christ, must oe considered as 
< scaffoldings to the main design.' And 

" 1. Atonement was made in Christ for the sins of 
the world. Let none be surprised at this position, 
till it is well considered. Although atonement al- 
ways has reference to sin, yet it relates to sin under 
different circumstances and obtains satisfaction for it 
in relation to different ends. — When the scriptures 
speak of the taking away of the sin of the world, or 
of the world's being saved, we are not to understand 
eternal redemption ; but the reconciling of the world 
as such, and its preservation from deserved wrath 
until the redemption of the purchased possession. 
This is obvious too, from the fact that God does not 
design to save men by worlds, or nations, but only by 
individuals. In this particular sense, the sin of the 
world may be taken away, and yet every man be 
still in his sins ; and will be so until the atonement 
is applied to him by faith for the pardon of his own 
sins. 

" 2. Through the atonement made by the offering 
of the body of Christ once for all sacrifices, has been 
obtained a divine influence to consecrate, set apart, 



,300 memoirs of 

and render lit all persons and things, which might 
be employed in the service of God. As in the type, 
no person or things could be engaged in the ritual 
service, without atonement made, so all fitness for any 
service in the kingdom of God, is derived from the 
atonement of Christ. 

" In this view Christ said to his disciples, (and it is 
of general application,) ' without me ye can do noth- 
ing.' And hence he prayed for them * That they 
might be sanctified through the truth,' or be set apart 
to the ministry of the word in the world. John 15 : 
5. 17 : 17, 18. In accordance with this view, Paul 
(for himself and his fellow ministers) disclaims all 
efficiency in themselves, but avers ' our sufficiency is 
of God.' And therefore, gives thanks to God for all 
their successes. 2 Cor. 3:5. 2 : 14. 

" This doctrine is more generally taught, 2 Tim. 2 : 
21. 3 : 17. But 

" 3. By this atonement is secured the complete and 
final salvation of all the elect, or church of Christ. 
This Paul affirms, Eph. 5 : 25—27. He says, < Christ 
loved the church and gave himself for it; that he 
might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of wa- 
ter by the word ; that he might present it to himself 
a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any 
such thing; but that it should be holy and without 
blemish.' And in Heb. 10 : 14. * For by one offering 
he (Christ) hath perfected for ever them that are sanc- 
tified.' Or set apart by said offering to such an end. 
This is the main desicni. 

o 

" And now the question very naturally comes up, 
was the sacrifice of Christ offered as a sin-offering to 
law and justice, without regard to any persons what- 
ever, but only to make an atonement which might 
justify the offended God in the pardon of such per- 



J ESSE MERCER. 301 

sons as he might see proper afterwards to apply it % 
Or, was it made with a special design for those who 
were afterwards to be benefited thereby % I cannot 
admit of this impersonal atonement, 1. because it does 
not show any justifiable or legal reason for the death 
of Christ, or why it pleased the Father to bruise him. 
If he died for sin, it must be the sin of somebody, or 
else it establishes the vague notion that sin can be 
punished in hell and the sinner saved in heaven. But 
"2. The scriptures connect so often and so fully the 
suffering of Christ with those for whom he suffered, 
that I cannot resist the conclusion that Christ died 
specially for those who shall be the heirs of eternal 
salvation.' ' 

In support of this view of the subject, the author 
quotes John 10 : 11. 15. Rom. 5 : 8. 1 Cor. 15 : 3. 1 
Thess. 5 : 9, 10, and various other parallel passages, 
and then proceeds as follows : 

" Under this department of atonement, lies the spe- 
cial and efficacious operations of the Holy Spirit, and 
all the measures of divine grace necessary to effect 
and bring about all the purposes of God in the full 
and final salvation of his people. And for this pur- 
pose Christ is constituted, ' the Head over all things 
to the church.' To him is given all authority and 
power in heaven and earth ; and in him it has pleased 
the Father that all fulness should dwell. So that he, 
as king, rules in the midst of his enemies, and reigns 
in his church, dispensing his grace, and shedding 
abroad his love. He influences, directs and renders 
efficient the uses and operations of all means and in- 
struments he may see proper to employ in his work, 
and nothing is sufficient of itself without him to do 
•any good thing, so it is, that he is all and in all 



302 MEMOIRS OP 

" In conclusion, let us observe that the different 
departments of the great atonement form but one 
mighty scheme of mercy. Though some parts are, 
as I said before, scaffoldings to the main design, yet 
they are all necessary to that design, and properly be- 
long to it. 

"As the atonement made for the whole house of 
Israel, procured to individuals who were sensible of 
their guilt, an opportunity to come and offer a sacri- 
fice to make atonement for their own sins, and obtain 
pardon, see Lev. I : 2 — 4. 4 : 21 — 35. so the death 
of Christ, by the dispensation of the gospel to the 
world, has opened up a way whereby guilty sinners 
under conviction, may come and seek the pardon of 
their sins by faith which is in Christ Jesus. And 
there is something in this process analogous to the 
guilty Israelite's obtaining pardon under the law. A 
convicted soul in coming to God through Christ, as it 
were, brings Christ and presents him by faith to God 
as his sin-offering, lays his hands on his head, con- 
fesses his sins over him, and slays him, and sees him 
offered a sacrifice to God for a sweet savor, and feels 
his sins forgiven him, through the shedding of his 
blood which cleanses from all sin. 

" I admit that the provisions of the general atone- 
ment, by which the kindness and love of God to man 
appeared, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christy 
who abolished death and brought life and immor- 
tality to light through the gospel, accompanied by the 
common or general operations of the all-pervading 
Spirit of God, are sufficient for all the purposes of 
man's salvation, and all men, wherever they are dis- 
pensed, would be saved, were it not for that aliena- 
tion of heart, which has everywhere estranged man 
from God, and filled him with that enmity which is 



JESSE MERCER. 303 

not subject to his law, neither indeed can be ; but God, 
foreseeing that no man would receive the testimony ', 
John 3 : 32. and that all men would turn away from 
the holy commandment delivered to them, whereby 
all men are without excuse, has, in the plenitude of 
his mercy, determined, in the riches of his grace, ac- 
cording to the sovereign counsel and good pleasure 
of his own will, (Eph. 1 : 10, 11.) to exercise a power 
sufficient to effect the purposes of his grace in the sal- 
vation of his own chosen people. By the display of 
this power, his enemies are changed into friends, Ps. 
Ill : 2, 3. and they that hated him bow before him 
and give him glory. In the exercise of this power 
there is nothing arbitrary or absolute, for it is the fruit 
of love ; but is all conciliatory and effectual. And 
thus, by influences perfectly congenial with human 
capacities and responsibilities, men are constrained to 
turn unto God with their whole heart, and subject 
themselves unto his reign and become the people of 
his praise.' ' 

In 1833 Mr. Mercer published an essay on the 
Lord's supper, based on 1 Cor. 5 : 7, 8. in which he 
runs an analogy between this gospel ordinance, and 
the Jewish passover. It contains much judicious and 
well-timed instruction, and would, no doubt, be use- 
ful to the churches if more generally circulated and 
carefully perused. Space can only be allowed for 
one or two paragraphs from the concluding part of 
the essay. 

" From the foregoing, it is palpable that open, unre- 
stricted communion has no place in scripture ; has 
not the least shadow of propriety, and is perfectly 
untenable. It is truly to be regretted, that so much 



MEMOIRS 

should have been said on a subject on which the 
scripture is entirely silent ; and therefore can only 
distract the weak and wavering, instead of edifying 
and confirming their souls in the right ways of the 
Lord. The plea on which open communionists rest 
their arguments, is ' christian liberality / a cause for 
which we are nowhere in scripture required to com- 
mune. If then we commune together at the Lord's 
table to show our christian love to one another, we 
pervert the ordinance of the Lord, and subject our- 
selves to the keen rebuke of ' who hath required this 
at your hands V Though church members to hold a 
pure communion, must be in christian fellowship, 
formed into a new unleavened lump, in sincerity and 
truth, yet they are nowhere required to commune to 
show their union, love and affection to each other; but 
to their Lord — to keep a holy memorial of his suffer- 
ings, and to show his death till he come. 

" Christian love, or liberality, is a fundamental pre- 
requisite, without the manifestation of which, no body 
of believers can be in that state of union and fellow- 
ship which will authorize them to commune at the 
Lord's table. This love is everywhere, in scripture, 
required to be manifested by believers in Christ, one 
towards another ; not indeed, by any ceremony, but 
by practically abounding in the works of benevo- 
lence, brotherly kindness and charity: when, there- 
fore, any body of Christians have gained gospel union 
and fellowship one with another, by the manifestations 
of fervent love towards each other, then, and not till 
then, are they prepared to give an expression of their 
love and affection to Christ, in a participation of the 
memorials of his suffering's and death. No set of be- 
lievers can be practically brought to this slate of 
christian unity and fellowship, without the pious use 



JESSE MERCEH. 3fr5 

of a godly discipline, and therefore, none can sit to- 
gether, with gospel propriety, at the table of the Lord, 
but those who are subject to its control ; for if disci- 
pline guards the table of the Lord, then none can 
gospelly sit around it, but those who are under its 
banner.' ' 

In 1S36, Mr. Mercer published his History of the 
Georgia Association, a work that was prepared in ac- 
cordance with the request of that body. It is proper, 
however, to state, that most of the labor of preparing 
the volume was performed by the Rev. W. H. Stokes, 
associate editor of the Index ; Mr. Mercer furnishing 
the materials, and taking the general oversight of the 
work as it progressed. Mr. Mercer therefore held 
himself responsible for the accuracy of the historical 
details, whilst the merits of the composition, whatever 
they may be, except as to those documents which are 
introduced in the language of others, are to be put to 
the credit of his esteemed and worthy co-laborer. 
The work is divided into four parts : — The^r^ em- 
braces some account of the churches previous to the 
formation of the body; an account of its organization, 
its articles of faith and decorum, compilations from 
the Minutes of the body, and some of the reports of 
its Missionary Board, &c. The second part consists 
of the most important queries that from time to time 
were propounded to the body, with the answers given. 
The third part embraces a selection from the Circu- 
lar Letters of the Association, and constitutes rather 
more than one half the volume. Amongst the names 
of the various authors, are found those of Silas Mercer, 
Jesse Mercer, Abram Marshall, Wm. Rabun, James 
Armstrong, J. P. Marshall, W. T. Brantly, Jack 
Lumpkin, Adiel Sherwood, Otis Smith, T>. M. Sanders, 

14* 



30G MEMOIRS of 

and many others, whose names are dear to the Bap- 
tists of Georgia. The fourth and last part is made 
up of short, yet interesting biographical sketches of 
some of the venerable departed fathers in the minis- 
try ; who had either been connected with the body, 
or labored usefully in gathering more or less of the 
materials of which it was afterwards composed. 

It is to bo regretted that this volume has not met 
with that ready sale which its inherent value would 
have justified. A large portion of the work would be 
edifying and instructive to ministers and private mem- 
bers of the church ; and the entire volume valuable 
as a work of reference. The future historian cannot 
fail to turn over its pages with pleasure and ad- 
vantage. 

In 1837 Mr. Mercer published a Review of a cer- 
tain Committee's Report, which appeared in the 12th 
number of tbe 1st volume of the "Primitive Baptist," 
a violent anti-missionary paper, published in North 
Carolina. This Report, in giving its version of cer- 
tain church and associational difficulties, which had 
been the occasion of much controversy and bitter 
feeling, impugned unjustly, as Mr. Mercer supposed, 
the Georgia Association and the State Convention. 
" To disabuse the public mind, in reference to the 
two bodies above named, to exculpate them from the 
misrepresentations and ill-demeanors laid to their 
charge, and to set some facts stated in a more clear 
light," was the design of this Review. As the pam- 
phlet is mostly devoted to affairs of a local and tem- 
porary interest, a particular notice of its contents may 
not be necessary here : it is due however to the 
author to say, that it was prepared with much ability, 
and was well adapted to the design for which it was 



JESSE MERCER. 307 

written. The following are the closing sentences of 
the pamphlet. 

" Say not that this distress is produced by mission- 
ary and kindred societies. Those existed long before 
this discord arose — and all were in peace — all admit- 
ting that each brother should use his liberty in these 
things, to act or not as he choosed. And thus all was, 
up to that very day when the Associations assumed the 
right to adjudicate the churches. But from that day, 
fierce contentions, bitter animosities and divisions 
have increased amongst us. Will not the brethren 
wake up to this fact, and come up, with one heart and 
united hands, to the help of our bleeding Zion ? As 
said Paul in another case, ' he that letteth will let, till 
he he taken out of the way / so we may say in this 
case. The cause which has produced our strife and 
divisions, will continue to produce confusion and dis- 
cord, till it be taken out the ivay. — And I can see no 
way by which peace can be restored to our Churches, 
except our brethren will give up their Associational 
jurisdiction, retract their decisions, and restore to the 
Churches their plundered rights. 

" May the God of peace, send peace ; by leading 
all his people to do that which is well pleasing in His 
sight, for the sake of the Prince of peace. So prays 
the friend and fellow servant of all who love our Lord 
Jesus Christ in sincerity, 

"Jesse Mercer." 

At a Ministers' Meeting in Powelton, held in Nov. 
1839, Mr. Mercer read an essay on the query, " Is the 
cause of Missionary Societies and other kindred insti- 
tutions, as advocated by the Georgia Baptist Conven- 
tion, the cause of God ?" The writer, of course, 



30S MEMOIRS OF 

endeavored to establish the affirmative. After pre- 
senting a few appropriate and remarkably condensed 
scriptural arguments, he thus concludes : " If the 
societies complained of are not fulfilling the scriptures 
according to the purpose of God, set foith in prophe- 
cies and command, there is no operation now fulfilling, 
or pretending to fulfil them. Can this be supposed!" 
Early in 1S41, appeared in the columns of the 
Index an essay in three numbers, from the pen of 
Mr. Mercer, on the Forgiveness of Sins. In these 
numbers are considered the Source of forgiveness ; 
the Medium of communication ; how it is dispensed, 
and how it is received ; and also its occasions. Under 
the last head he presents his views upon a subject 
which has been much controverted of late years in 
certain sections of the country. 

" These texts (Mark 1 : 4. Acts 2: 38.) have been 
used by some as if remission of sins was dispensed 
in baptism, and that believers were now to be baptized 
in order to receive the remission of their sins. If 
these passages were all that the Bible contained on 
the subject, there might be a shadow of difficulty in 
the construction of them ; but as the Scriptures are 
elsewhere indubitably clear, that pardon is dispensed 
by the Holy Spirit, and received by faith, as all other 
gospel blessings are, the sense in these texts must be 
differently understood. And I am fully persuaded 
that the time meaning is, that baptism is to be sub- 
mittal to, as all other obedience is to be done, in 
reference to the remission of sins. The true sense in 
these passages, depends on the meaning of for? as 
used in them. Webster, in his late Dictionary, among 
many other renderings, has the two following. ' On 
account of.' And ' towards tlie obtaining of.' I think 



JESSE MERCER, 309 

all will agree it must be in these texts used in one of 
these senses. It either must be that believers axe to 
be baptized in order to the obtaining the remission of 
sins, or it is to be performed on account of the remis- 
sion of sins. 

I take the latter ground of construction as the true 
one in these declarations ; because the scripture as- 
cribes it to a different cause ; see Acts 10 : 43. in ref- 
erence to Christ crucified, the prophets all gave wit- 
ness ' that through his name, whosoever believeth in 
him, shall receive remission of sins.'' This is conclu- 
sive. For if forgiveness of sin is received through 
the name of Christ, by faith in him, it can't he received 
by baptism, nor any other act of gospel obedience. 
A critical observance of the text in Acts 2 : 38. will 
show that Peter did not intend to convey the idea to 
those convicted, inquiring souls, that they on being 
baptized should receive the remission of their sins ; 
for then he would have placed 'receive* befoie the re- 
mission of sins, and then it would have read thus : — 
' Repent and be baptized every one of you in the 
name of Jesus Christ, and ye shall receive the re- 
mission of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost;' but 
rcceivebeing placeed bfore the gift of the Holy Ghost, 
plainly excludes the remission of sins from the recep- 
tion ; and shows he designed the forgiveness of sins 
to be considered the great reason on account of which 
they were to be baptized. I think any one may per- 
ceive a marked difference between Christ and the 
Evangelists in the use of this little word 'for;' — 
Christ said to his disciples at the supper-table, (Math. 
26 : 28.) < For this is my blood of the New Testament, 
which is shed for many for the remission of sins.' 
Who doubts but Christ intended for the obtaining of 
the remission of sins ? But the Evangelist and Peter 



310 MEMOIRS op 

use it evidently, in my view, in the sense of, on ac- 
count of, and shows that baptism is to be received in 
joyful regard to Christ, by whom we received the 
atonement. — Once more and I close. Baptism is a 
figurative representation of Christ's death and resur- 
rection for the remission of sins, wherein the baptized 
show their faith in Christ and hope of salvation 
through him, arid must have the remission of sins al- 
ready in their joyful possession ; and of course, sub- 
mit to the ordinance in view of their being forgiven 
all trespasses, and in hope of a triumphant resurrec- 
tion with their ascended Saviour, to that inheritance 
which is reserved in heaven for all those who look 
and wait for his coming. ,, 

A few extracts from Mr. Mercer's shorter pieces 
that appeared from time to time in the Index, under 
the editorial head, will exhibit his opinions on vari- 
ous important subjects, and furnish a proper conclu- 
sion to this chapter. 

Justification and Sanctification. 

" 1. Justification is an act of God the Father as 
Judge ; sanctification is by the operations and influ- 
ences of the Holy Ghost. 2. Justification is opposed 
to guilt and condemnation ; sanctification is opposed 
to the corruption and the pollutions of the heart. 
3. Justification is by the righteousness of Christ im- 
puted ; sanctification is by the graces of the Holy Spi- 
rit implanted. 4. Justification gives a title to heaven ; 
sanctification fits and prepares for heaven. Thus 
Christ on us is our justification, while Christ in us is 
our sanctification and hope of glory." 



JESSE MERCEIL 311 

Free Agency. 

u This term is used by theological writers to ex- 
press the state of men as creatures vested with power 
every way suited to yield obedience to the laws of 
their Maker, while at the same time they were left 
free, or liable to * turn from the holy commandment 
delivered unto them/ The word agent, in this con- 
nexion, simply describes man as capable of action, 
and free is used to show that that action was the re- 
sult of no compulsory coercion, but produced wholly 
by the volition of its agents, or that men act accord- 
ing to the most prevailing disposition of their hearts. 
This free agency is that whereby men are the proper 
subjects of moral law ; bound to obey the voice of 
their Creator, because he gave them in their creation, 
the ability to do so, and therefore requires them to 
love him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength ; 
but never coerces them to this obedience — for this 
would be to render their service a matter of neces- 
sity and not of choice, void of virtue and incapable 
of giving him any honor. In order that men's obe- 
dience might be voluntary, virtuous and honoring to 
their Creator, they must be free to disobey if they 
choose to do so. 'Tis this that renders them respon- 
sible for their actions — the subjects of praise or blame. 
Without this they could not be blessed in their obe- 
dience, nor condemned for their sin. 

" The fact that men have sinned, has no tendency 
to alter, or change, or abate the claims of their Crea- 
tor on them, or their obligations of obedience to him, 
in the least. He has created them the subjects of 
moral government, and commands them accordingly ; 
and it is their duty to obey ; but their foolish heart 
being fully bent in them to do evil, they will not. 



312 MEMOIRS OF 

They choose their own evil ways arid doings, and re- 
fuse to return. Therefore they ore without excuse, 
and justly condemned, and would all perish in their 
own corruption, if God was not better to them than 
they are to themselves. 

" But God, in the infinite provisions of his mercy, 
has purposed in Christ to employ such divine opera- 
tions and influences as shall, in perfect accordance 
with the free agency of men, make his people willing 
in the day of his power. It is believed that all the 
saving operations of God in men, are to bring them 
to this willingness, and so to be saved. That God in 
these operations, never does any violence to the will 
of men, but always seeks to change it from its evil in- 
clinations, and so to turn them to himself. The evi- 
dences of God's favor towards any are, therefore, not 
to be sought in forcible restraints, but in the drawings 
and sweet inclinings of their hearts to seek the Lord, 
and to obtain his favor. Nor are we to think these 
sweet drawings are the less certain, because they do 
not rise to coercion. The Lord who formed the 
heart, knows best how to govern it, and form it anew 
to love and serve him with true delight.' ' 

Atonement and Reconciliation. 

" "While I was at the Georgia Association, I re- 
ceived from a highly esteemed brother, the following 
note. ■ My dear brother, — In reading your letters on 
the atonement, I find on the 4th page, 1st column, 
it is called reconciliation. Are atonement and recon- 
ciliation synonymous expressions 1 If so, I will thank 
you to remove a difficulty resting on my mind ; it is 
this : the atonement was made say eighteen hundred 
years ago ; its effects reached back to the first real 



II 



JESSE MERCER. 313 

penitent, and forward to the last. J. M. was hope- 
fully reconciled to God, say 1787 ; what influence had 
the atonement before this period ] If atonement and 
reconciliation are the same, he must have been recon- 
ciled while his life and heart gave abundant evidence 
that he was unreconciled : or in other words, he was 
reconciled and yet in rebellion ; which to me - is ab- 
surd ! You will oblige me by removing this dilemma.' 
It may be that other brethren are puzzled with this 
dilemma, and for their sakes as well as his, I request 
you will insert in the Star and Index,* the following 
solution. 

" Reconciliation is the making peace between par- 
ties at variance. God and men are at variance, and 
reconciliation relates to both parties. From God it 
removes the offence ; from men, sin, the cause of it. 
The offence is removed from God by the death of his 
Son — by the blood of his cross, &c. Sin is taken 
away from men by the operations and influences of 
the Holy Ghost, giving them faith in that death and 
blood. In reference to God it is atonement ; in ref- 
erence to men it is regeneration and conversion. Paul 
uses the word in both these senses in one verse, Rom. 
5 : 10. ' For if when we were enemies, we were re- 
conciled to God by the death of his Son ; much more, 
being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.' The 
same idea is expressed in verse 8 : * In that while we 
were yet sinners, Christ died for us/ Now, as Christ 
really died for us eighteen hundred years ago, and in 
purpose from the foundation of the world, reconcilia- 
tion must have rested in his mind coeval thereto, and 
so, while men lay in sin, and were rebels. 

* The paper was published at Philadelphia when the above was 
written. 



314 MEMOIRS OF 

" The same may be said of redemption and even of 
pardon ; indeed, pardon is of necessity some time 
with God before it is received by us : and so, we may 
be said to be pardoned, and yet not pardoned. — I be- 
lieve that Gill, Scott, Brown, Doddridge, Buck, and 
Henry, all agree in reconciliation and atonement be- 
ing synonymous, as they relate to God. I can't see 
any other sense in the texts I have cited. If this is 
correct, the doctrine is established, whether the ' di- 
lemma* is removed or not.' ' 

Predestination and Free agency. 

" The knotty question — How predestination in God 
can consist with free agency in man ] is more puzzling 
than edifying. We may affirm the fact, though we 
cannot explain the manner; for the scriptures plainly 
teach us both, and i they cannot be broken. 7 We do 
not, however, see any particular difficulty in harmo- 
nizing them together, unless it could be thought that 
seduction or inducement could exonerate its subjects 
from responsibility ; but if that could be allowed, it 
would apply as well to temptation as to divine influ- 
ence, and so render man a mute ; neither the subject 
of praise or blame. But if man may be tempted, or 
induced to act in a certain way, and yet be accounta- 
ble, we see not why God might not foresee how the 
various temptations and trials, lie would please to suf- 
fer, would operate on man, and determine to employ 
such counteracting operations and influences as he 
might see good to effect a certain end, and yet he re- 
main righteous and man responsible. For instance : 
If God, having created man a rational and intelligent 
moral agent, should determine to place him in circum- 
stances, and suffer him to be tempted by all the in- 



JESSE MERCER. 315 

ducements, the best suited to test his integrity, would 
he be thereby freed from responsibility, in case he sin- 
ned ? Certainly not. Can it be supposed, that such 
a case would possess any difficulty to an infinite mind, 
in perfectly comprehending the results of such a 
trial % We think not. Well then, should God pre- 
determine to oppose to the sinful inclinations of men, 
such restraints and influences under his providence, 
as would overcome them, and dispose him to choose 
and adopt that course which would terminate in that 
end, which would, (all things considered,) be most for 
his glory and the greatest good of the universe ; would 
that in any wise destroy man's free agency % It surely 
could not. Then it is easy to see how God could 
consistently with the perfect accountability of man, 
4 declare the end from the beginning, and from an- 
cient times the things that are not yet done, say- 
ing, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my 
pleasure V " 

Duty of Man and Purposes of God. 

" We presume the difficulty of these brethren in 
reconciling the purposes of God with the duty of man, 
arises from viewing duty only in relation to its agents, 
and as dependent alone on uninfluenced human voli- 
tion. Their minds therefore revolt at the idea of rest- 
ing the purposes of God on conditions so precarious 
and uncertain. But this difficulty will wholly vanish, 
when it is considered that these agents and all their 
works are in the hand of God, Eccl. 9 : 1. and directed 
in truth to the ends designed, Isa. 61 : 8. That God 
has connected the operations of his people with the 
designs of his grace, is as certain as he has command- 
ed them ; but in appointing the duties of his servants 



;J1C MEMOIRS OF 

to be the means of subserving his purposes, lie also 
has appointed his Holy Spirit to be the superintending 
Lord over them, their works and the things to be ac- 
complished. But we are not to suppose that God 
always makes known his designs, with the require- 
ments of those duties, which he intends to make instru- 
mental in the accomplishment of his purposes, or that 
his people are always conscious of the effects which 
will follow their obedience. In this respect they are 
often left in great obscurity, while God plants his foot- 
steps before them, in the deep waters, and makes 
darkness his pavilion round about him ; and they are 
left to be impelled on only from those motives and 
honest considerations which are conducive to all holy 
obedience, arising from the fear, love and authority of 
Him who commands their respect. Thus Christians 
should be diligent in the discharge of those obligations 
which are clearly intimated from the commands of 
Scripture, the indications of divine Providence, and 
the operations of the Holy Spirit in their hearts — 
humbly looking to God for the desired results.' ' 

Conditional ^Election, 

" Mr. Wesley, in his zeal to establish his favorite 
scheme of conditional election, notwithstanding all his 
learning and skill as a controversialist, yet lays down 
a scheme which fixes on the elect personally, and se- 
cures their salvation, from eternity as absolutely sure, 
as the knowledge of God was perfect or his faithful- 
ness unchangeable. He lays down his position thus — 
God from the foundation of the world, knowing all men, 
believing or unbelieving, did according to his foreknow- 
ledge choose, or elect all obedient believers, as such, to 
salvation ; and reprobated or foreajyjointcd all disobe- 
dient unbelievers as such, to damnation : not without. 



JESSE MERGER. 317 

but according to his foreknowledge of them and all their 
zvorks from the foundation of the tvarld. Here it will 
be noticed that Mr. W. admits the all comprehending 
and infinite understanding of God, and makes it the 
base of his position. According to this perfect know- 
ledge of God y of all men and their individual charac- 
teristics, they were disposed of for eternity, from the 
foundation of the word. Now we ask any man, free 
from prejudice, that if God foresaw me as an obedient 
believer, and elected me, as such, to glory, can I fail to 
attain to it ? Or if J was seen, from the foundation of 
the world a disobedient unbeliever and reprobated* or 
Preappointed as such, to damnation, can /possibly es- 
cape it ] It will be easily seen that this scheme ren- 
ders the destiny of every man absolutely sure from 
the foundation of the word, without the possibility of 
a change, unless it could be shown that there had 
been some error in the foreknowledge of God. But 
the worst feature in the conditional scheme is, that it 
divests the doctrine of every particle or vestige of 
grace. What grace is there in God's choosing worthy 
persons to glory ] Is there any wonder in God's 
i loving and choosing the righteous ? But the astonish- 
ment of men and angels has been called forth in that 
God loved us, and Christ died for us while ive were 
enemies. In scripture the doctrine of election is con- 
sidered as a matter of amazing gratitude and thanks- 
giving. See Ephe. 1 : 3, 4. 2 Thess. 2 : 13. 1 Peter 
1 : 3. and whoever holds or feels towards it in any 
other light, holds it not in accordance to scripture." 

Persons arc sometimes improperly accused of Armi- 
nianism. 
" Although Mr. Fuller writes much on the respon- 
sibilities and duties of men to believe the gospel 



318 MEMOIRS OF 

when it is preached to them, yet he argues fully, the 
total depravity of fallen men, and that they can be 
saved only by sovereign grace, through the application 
of the atonement, by the Holy Spirit. 

" Some expressions, dropped by Judson and other 
missionaries, have been caught up, and construed 
into Arminianism : such as, if Christians had done 
their duty, tchat multitudes of heathen might have been 
saved ! Or, what multitudes of heathen are perishing 
every day, for lack of that knoivledge, which Christians 
have failed to propagate among them ! These and all 
similar expressions, which connect salvation with the 
use of means, are to be understood in the light of 
means, and no further. And in that light they are 
perfectly scriptural. In Matt. 11 : 20 — 24. our Lord 
upbraids the hard hearted and impious Jews, be- 
cause they repented not at his mighty works ; and 
declared that if they had been done in Tyre and Sidon, 
and in Sodom, they would have repented long ago, 
and remained to that day. Again, he said to those 
who persecuted, and would have killed him, John 
5 : 34. ' These things I say, that ye might be saved/ 
Also 20 : 31. ■ But these things are written, that ye 
might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; 
and that believing ye might have life through his 
name.' Paul declares to the Gentiles that the design 
of what he said, Rom. 11 : 14. was that — ' If by any 
means he migkt provoke to emulation, them which 
are my flesh, and might save some of them. , And in 
1 Cor. 9 : 19 — 22. he says : 'I made myself servant 
unto all, that I might gain the more/ And says he, 
* I am made all things to all men, that I might by all 
means save some.' And he even expresses the same 
connexion between his efforts, and the salvation of the 
elect in 2 Tim. 2:10.* Therefore, I endure all things 



JESSE MERCER. 319 

for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain the sal- 
vation which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory/ 
If then, the missionaries in the sentiments above were 
Arminians, then were Christ and Paul Arminians ! ! 

" But we presume, the whole complaint springs out 
of a mistaken notion of what Arminianism is. Or 
from a wish to stigmatize whatever is opposed to their 
antinomian notions. 

" Arminianism rightly understood, is comprehensi- 
bly expressed in universal provision, made in Christ 
for the salvation of all men ; and a corresponding 
ability in man to accept the offered mercy and live by 
it. Or, if we mistake not, as expressed by Arminius 
himself, that it consists in * All free grace in God, and 
all free willin man.' The doctrine inculcates, that 
Christ as the second Adam, represented all mankind ) 
and restored all to a state of initial salvation. So that 
all men are born with a seed of grace in them ; and 
stand justified free from the condemnation of Adam's 
sin. That God freely dispenses his calls and invita- 
tions to all, and that his Spirit operates on all — but on 
none irresistibly ; so that all are capable at all times 
to resist the grace and be lost ; or cherish the influ- 
ence, and be saved. 

" But appeals to men, in regard to their danger or 
duty, must not be considered inconsistent, either with 
their condition in sin, or the eternal and unchangeable 
purposes of God ; because the scriptures abound with 
them. Divine purposes form no rule for human ac- 
tion. They are rather the rule of the divine opera- 
tion. The holy commandment is the rule for the obe- 
dience of men. And all men are bound to obey God, 
in all his dispensations of law or gospel. They who 
have right notions of God's purposes of grace and 
men's responsibilities, will never confound them to- 



330 MEMOIRS OF 

got her. All duties, whether yielded to command, 
invitation or exhortation, must be considered only as 
duties, and done as necessary to some usefulness, and 
for the honor of God. Salvation always comes from 
God, through the redemption that is in Christ, accord- 
ing to the riches of his grace. But it may be received 
in the way of duty. It is God's way, first to call men 
to repentance which issues in obedience ; and then to 
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ that they may be saved 
through him. Therefore, the scriptures abound in 
exhortations, invitations, and even commands to re- 
pentance and faith. It is right then that men should 
be taught their obligations to God, and exhorted, and 
urged, and even expostulated with, that they turn from 
the evil of their ways, and seek the Lord while he 
may be found, and call upon him while he is near ; 
lest they sink from the dark mountains of their error, 
and perish for ever. All this, however, must be kept 
distinctly within the sphere of means and duty ; or 
only as ways in which the Lord may be found, in whom 
alone is all grace. If any man has ever inculcated the 
efficiency of means and instruments in themselves con- 
sidered, he is worse than an Arminian. The effort- 
brethren, so far as we are acquainted with them, hold 
with the apostle, that while they * plant and water,' 
it is God alone ' that giveth the increase.' They feel 
it to be their duty to do their endeavor to fulfil the 
ministry which God has entrusted to them, but they 
look to him for all their successes. To God, there- 
fore, be all the Glory." 

For ivhom arc the invitations of the Gospel particu- 
larly intended ? 
" Although the invitations of the gospel are full and 
free, answering to every case of distress, which con- 



JESSE MERCER. 321 

vinced sinners can feel or the fulness of Christ relieve; 
yet we know of no command which requires a minis- 
ter of Christ, or even justifies him, in inviting thought- 
less sinners to come to him for salvation. And why- 
should he % They neither know nor feel their need 
of the blessings he has to bestow. It appears to us 
the first duty of a gospel minister is to teach men 
the ruined state they are in by reason of sin, and 
the provisions of mercy God has made for their 
recovery in Christ ; then to warn them of their dan- 
ger, then after that to call them to repentance and 
faith, and then last of all to invite the perishing, 
helpless and dying to come to Christ and live. The 
invitations of the gospel are predicated on some cir- 
cumstance of distress, which the blessings of salva- 
tion are suited to remedy. The most free and 
general invitation is, ' And whosoever will, let him 
take of the water of life freely.' But we presume, 
all will admit this ivill is desire, and even involves 
thirst for these waters, with anxious fears of being 
denied, else why invited to take them freely. Should 
it be said the thirsty in the 50th of Isaiah, evidently 
intend those who are athirst for carnal or worldly 
pleasures — then we ask, is there any thing in the 
waters of life to satiate this sinful desire — to allay 
this burning thirst for sensual gratifications ? We 
answer no : the causes of this sinful thirst must be 
removed by soul-stirring convictions, and the place 
filled with ' hunger and thirst after righteousness.' 
And then, and not till then, the invitations will apply. 
" Should any inquire why sinners are preached to 
at all, if they be ' Mind, deaf, dumb V We reply, 
because, God has commanded zcs to preach tinto the 
people. And we should obey as did the prophet, 
when commanded to prophesy to the dry bones in 

15 



322 MEMOIRS OF 

the valley. And rationally, because they are alive 
in all that renders them accountable beings; but 
dead in all that fits them for acceptable, evangelical 
obedience. And therefore theirs must be a guilty 
blindness, deafness and death, about which they ought 
to he preached to. 11 

The doctrines of Grace favorable to Godliness. 

" The doctrine of divine grace, according to eter- 
nal purpose, which God purposed in Christ Jesus 
before the world began, is a doctrine according to 
godliness ; and when rightly held and taught, tends 
to promote comfort, zeal, and perseverance in all 
holy obedience, from a sense of gratitude ; and in 
nowise interferes with the obligations and responsibil- 
ities of men ; but when made a party question, and run 
out into extremes, (to which controversy leads,) it be- 
comes a snare to many souls — a nurse of inaction, 
and a conductor to the ruins of Antinomianism. The 
opposite extreme should as assiduously be guarded 
against. — Dwelling on practical religion, and insist- 
ing on the duties and obligations of men, without 
keeping in constant view their moral and guilty dis- 
ability, and the sovereignty of God in affording salva- 
tion to them, as unworthy, helpless sinners, as directly 
tends to the bogs of Arminianism. The truth of the 
gospel, rightly held and taught, is that which turns 
men from darkness to light, and the power of sin 
to serve the living God, by faith which is in Christ 
Jesus our Lord." 

Sincerity. 

" Sincerity may be defined, the exact agreement of 
a man's conduct, with the feelings and designs of his 
heart. If then hatred to God and man cannot be justi- 



JESSE MERCER, 323 

Bed, nor even excused because it is sincere; the sincere 
belief of error cannot apologize for its votaries, in its 
practice. It is not sincerity, but truth, which can 
justify any one in his faith or practice. If otherwise, 
all kinds and forms of religion would be equalized. 
For doubtless there are sincere Jews and Pagans, 
Infidels and Idolaters, as well as Christians. But 
who will ever excuse Jews, Pagans, Infidels, Idolaters 
or Christian errorists, because they are sincere t None ! 
we presume. But nevertheless, sincerity is an indis- 
pensable trait of a godly man's heart. It is the true 
and genuine characteristic of a real christian, and 
which distinguishes him from, and opposes him to a 
hypocrite. The true christian therefore, sincerely be- 
lieves the truth, and does it ; because it is the truth, 
and not because it suits his convenience, or fosters 
either his pride or pleasure." 

Submission to God, not always followed with immediate 
comfort, 

" And we inquire, if there is not in christian ex- 
perience a crisis beyond which there is no opposition 
to God's justice or his mercy, and yet there is no 
comfort and peace in believing] But on the contrary, 
a mighty struggle, an awful suspense ! This struggle 
is not with God to induce him to pardon sins — no 
enlightened sinner does that — but he is in strife in 
himself, to know whether God will, or even can par- 
don him. What does the Saviour mean when he 
says strive to enter in ? does he not, so far as prayer 
is concerned, mean the importunity he recommends, 
and what is that but a mighty struggle at the throne 
of grace ] Christ says that God bears long with his 
own elect which cry unto him day and night. Is it 
likely they at such times have no struggling to enter 



324 Memoirs ojP 

into rest ? We are of opinion that there is in the 
dispensation of God's grace to men, a season in which 
after they are convinced and humbled, that they are 
left to seek, and mourn, and wait before God, to 
obtain his pardoning mercy, and that during this time 
they have many fears and tremblings, and we may 
say many struggling^ lest they should be finally cast 
off!" 

Comment on Rom. 8 : 19, 20, 21.. 

" This is reckoned among Commentators, one of 
the most difficult passages in the epistle, to under- 
stand and explain satisfactorily. The reason, we 
think, is that they mostly adopt a plan of construction, 
which is wide of the apostle^s theme of discourse. 
They are very much divided, and it does not appear 
that they have yet come to any agreement as to what 
is the true meaning. We have consulted all the ex- 
positions we have at command, and cannot find any 
with which we can be satisfied. — Some make i the 
creature* to mean the brute creature, others the heathen 
creature, others the inanimate creature, and others the 
creation. But these meanings all represent the apostle 2 
as suddenly breaking off from a most interesting sub- 
ject, to a different one without any just cause ; and 
besides, we cannot see the propriety of attributing to 
these the strong expressions of desire and hope as- 
cribed to the creature by the apostle. We shall 
therefore give our own opinion and leave our friends 
to make their own. 

" As the apostle assigns what is contained in these 
verses, as a reason for what he had said in verses 17 
and 18, we think it best to understand him to intend 
by the creature, the eh ild of God. The new creature 
in Christ Jesus. (See 2 Cor. 5 : 17. where the same 



JESSE MEKCEll. 325 

Greek word is used for creature.) Paul having come 
to the conclusion that the sufferings endured by chris- 
tians in the present world, were not worthy to be com- 
pared with the glory that would be revealed in them, 
assigns as a reason for this conclusion, that the earnest 
expectation of the child of God, waited for this glorious 
reversion ; and though now, for a season, it might be 
needful for him to suffer the afflictions which his hea- 
venly Father had appointed to him as trial, or chas- 
tisement, yet he was taught to believe that he 
should be delivered from this state of bondage into 
the glorious liberty of the sons of God in light. The 
verses may be thus paraphrased. For the earnest ex- 
pectation of the child of God waiteth for the time 
when all the children of God will be manifested in 
their true character. For he was made subject to 
vanity, or the state of suffering in which he remains, 
not by his own will or desire, but because it is the 
will of his Father in heaven, that he should continue 
in this transitory state of disappointment and suffer- 
ings. But in doing this, hope has been given him as 
an anchor to his soul, sure and steadfast, to enable 
him to endure his trials till his redemption come. 
And he shall be delivered from this bondage of cor- 
ruption into the glorious liberty of all the children of 
God in the heavenly kingdom. And to encourage 
the brethren to endure their sufferings with patience, 
the Apostle alleges, as a known fact, that all the netv 
creation, or people of God in the past ages, groaned 
and travailed in pain for this deliverance ; and not 
only those who had lived in the more dark dispensa- 
tion, but even we, the apostles, who have received the 
richer degree of the spirit of adoption, groan and wait 
for the redemption of our body. Hence the apostle 
would have his brethren rather to count it all joy 



oiJG MEMOIRS OF 

when they fell into many temptations and trials, know- 
ing ' that tribulation worketh patience ; and patience 
experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh 
not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad 
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto 



Trinitarian argu?nents for John 5 : 17. and on. 

" To understand the paradoxes of Scripture in 
reference to Christ, his twofold state, or complex cha- 
racter, as son of man and son of God must be kept 
constantly in view. Without this many texts are per- 
fectly inexplicable. As son of man, in which exists 
his mediatorship, he is a servant, obeys, suffers, prays, 
and dies ! In this character he declares himself to be 
inferior to the Father. 

"As Son of God, he thinks it no robbery to be 
equal with God, is the express image of his person,, 
and the very brightness of his glory, and affirms him- 
self to be one with the Father. 

" Unitarians endeavor to establish the cremtureship 
of Christ, in order to destroy his godhead. A man 
would argue just as conclusively, who, on proving 
man to be a frail and dying mortal, would triumph- 
antly affirm that he was not immortal. But to the 
point in question. Our Lord had declared himself to 
be the Son of God in such a manner as made the 
Jews charge him with blasphemy, in making himself 
equal with God. In all that Christ replies to this 
charge, his essential, indivisible and co-existent union 
with his Father is asserted. In any other view of the 
divine Personalities they could work separately. If 
Christ was a creature he could act without his Father, 
as angels and men have done in committing sin. But 
as he is one of a co-ordinate and inseparable exist- 



JESSE MERCER. 327 

ence he cannot work of himself or alone. So when 
the Father works he also works. For what things 
soever the Father doeth, these also doeth the Son 
likewise. This is not imitation, for then there would 
be a double set of works, but it is the work of indi- 
visible unity. It is therefore that the Son is entitled 
to the same degree of honor with the Father ; which 
if he be not God, is idolatry. Now whatever is said 
to be given to him, is ' because he is the Son of Man? 
In this sense all is communicated and derived. 

" It is hoped the above may serve as a clew to 
direct the thoughts of those bewildered, in the intri- 
cacies of this very mysterious doctrine. Our advice 
to all is to build their faith on the plain, and not the 
obscure portions of Scripture. On the rock of divine 
declaration, and not on the sand of human conjecture." 

The true Christian and deceived soul. 

" Many a sincere child of God and lover of Christ 
has inquired with anxious solicitude, under conscious 
defects and short-comings, " can I be a christian t 
Surely I must be a deceived soul !' And one has lately 
asked us with earnest concern, * what are the exer- 
cises of a real christian, and some of the most striking 
marks by which he may be distinguished from a de- 
ceived soul V 

" We now in compliance with the request thus ear- 
nestly made, will endeavor to place a few of the ex- 
ercises and most obvious marks of a true christian in 
contrast with those of a deceived soul ; for the benefit 
of those who have little faith and tender consciences. 

" 1. A christian is a believer in Christ, whose sole 
dependence for salvation is in Him ; and who, from 



32S MEMOIRS OF 

a sincere regard for his person and honor, is endeav- 
oring to follow his precepts and examples. 

11 A deceived soul, while he may admit that Christ 
Jesus is the procuring cause of salvation for the hu- 
man race, and that it originated all in grace, yet does 
not wholly trust in him, nor on divine grace, for that 
salvation, but in something else, either in, or done by 
himself, or by somebody else for him ; and he is not 
careful to follow Christ as his Lord and Master, but 
only as he may think it necessary for his own happi- 
ness and final safe arrival in heaven. 

" 2. A christian loves God. 1 John 4 : 7. 'Every 
one that loveth is horn of God.' Which may be 
known by an exercise of holy and reverend fear of 
him, leading to eschew evil and do good from a pious 
and devout regard to his honor. 

" A deceived soul does not love God, only in so far 
as he thinks he sees something in him, which has a di- 
rect bearing on his own happiness, and enables him to 
cherish his hopes of salvation founded on his own im- 
aginary goodness ; he has no fear of offending G od, 
except as he supposes his safety is concerned. 

" 3. A christian loves his fellow-professors, just in 
that proportion in which they give evidence that they 
are born of God. — 1 John 3 : 14. ' We know that 
we have passed from death unto life, because we love 
the brethren.' The motive of this love is in the love 
of God their heavenly Father, as laid down in 5 : 1, 2. 
' Every one that loveth him that begat, loveth him also 
that is begotten of him. By this we know that we 
love the children of God, when we love God and 
keep his commandments. ' So that the love a christian 
has to professors of Christianity, marks him to be a 
child of God, just so far as it springs from the love 



sigrssE heuceh. 329 

he lias to God, which is evident from its issuing in a 
sincere endeavor to keep his commandments, 

" A deceived soul loves professors of religion either 
nominally, without: distinction, because it is counted 
'liberal and popular, and is highly commended among 
men ; or denominationally, because they are of his 
own sect or party, -or because they hold in matters of 
religion precisely as he does. — His motives for the 
love of the brethren, are never drawn from so remote 
a source as the love of God and the keeping of his 
commandments, 

" 4. A christian has a knowledge of himself, which 
at once distresses and humbles him. He views him- 
self without Christ, totally depraved, Horn. 7 ; 14, 18. 
His heart is a sink of sin ; Jer. 17 : 9. He knows its 
plague, 1 Kings 8 : 38. and bitterness, Prov. 14 : 10. 
He often reproaches himself as vile and unworthy ; 
and the greater his discoveries are of the holiness and 
greatness of God, the more he abhors himself in dust 
and ashes ; Job 42 : 5, 6. Prov. 30 : 2, $.. Isa. 6 : 5. 
He is often disappointed in 'his fondest hopes and an- 
ticipations in happiness and success in duty ; Rom. 
7 : 15. to the end of the chapter, compared, with Gal. 
5 : 17. He is also exposed to many and fiery temp- 
tations ; 1 Peter 1 : 6. 4. 12 : 13. But he rejoices 
in hope of deliverance, Ps. 34 : 19, 20, Rom. 8 : 
18—25. 

"A deceived soul trusts in himself that he is right- 
eous ; Luke 18 .: 9, Puts dependence in his own 
heart, or in man, or some set of men; Piov. 28 : 26. 
Jer. 17 : 5. Ezek. 13:6. And is not in trouble as 
true believers are ; Ps. 73 : 5. 

" Deception does not consist so much in erroneous 
exercises and practice in religion, as in a misguided 
dependence for salvation, and selfish motives in regard 
15* 



330 MEMOIRS or 

to the service of God. The deceived soul cannot love 
Christ for any intrinsic value, or supreme excellence 
he sees in him, and therefore cannot trust to his right- 
eousness for justification, but chooses to depend on 
his own inward holiness, and to poise himself on his 
own good frames and feelings. But true and vital 
piety consists not so much in frames and feelings which 
may be had, as in a well grounded dependence on 
Christ for acceptance with God, and a deep rooted 
disposition of heart exercised towards God in rever- 
ence and godly fear. The child of God loves Christ 
supremely, and can trust his lighteousness and noth- 
ing else, for justification with God. He can have no 
confidence in himself, for in him (that is in his flesh) 
he knows dwells no p-ood thing. Phil. 3 : 3. Rom. 
7 : IS. 

"'But, brother Editor, I thought, should I ever be 
a christian, I would be a holy one, but have been en- 
tirely disappointed — I fear instead of growth in grace, 
my life is retrograde. I perform no duty as I ought. 
My attempts to pray are often with a mind so void of 
feeling, so wandering, so little impressed with a sense 
of my wants or necessities, that were I to approach 
an earthly judge in the same manner, I know he would 
spurn me from his presence/ — Well be this all true, 
and why lament it, if not a christian ? 'Tis a mercy 
that christians know their errors, and mourn over 
them, and are It ambled on account of them. Ps. 19 : 
12 — 14. Lam. 3 : 19, 20. We cannot close this ar- 
ticle better than in the words of the excellent Newton, 

11 4 If I love, why am I thus? 
Why this dull and lifeless frame ? 
Hardly, sure, can they be worse, 
Who have never heard his name ! 
Could my heart so hard remain. 



JESSE MERCER. 331 

Pray'r a task and burden prove, 
Every trifle give me pain, 
If I knew a Saviour's love? 
When I turn my eyes within, 
All is dark, and vain, and wild,' 
Fill'd with unbelief and sin, 
Can I deem myself a child ? 
If I pray, or hear, or read,- 
Sin is mix'd in all I do ; 
You that love the Lord indeed, 
Tell me, is it thus with you ? 
Yet I mourn my stubborn will, 
Find my sin a grief and thrall ! 
Should I grieve for what I feel, 
If I did not love at all? 
Couid I joy the saints to meet, 
Choose the ways I once abhorred, 
Find, at times, the promise sweet, 
If I did not love the Lord? 
Lord, decide this doubtful case! 
Thou who art thy people's sun, 
Shine upon thy work of grace, 
If it be indeed begun ! 
Let me love thee more and more, 
If I love at all, I pray ; 
If I have not lov'd before, 
Help mo to begin to-day !' " 

The following is a connected list of the principal writings of Mr. 
Mercer. 

1. Circular Letter of Ga. Association, 1801. 2. Do. do. on Dis- 
cipline, 1808. 3. Do. do. Invalidity of Pcdobaptist Administration 
of Ordinances, 1811. 4. Do. do. Various Christian Duties urged, 
1816 5. Funeral Discourse on the death of Gov. Rabun, 1819. 
G. Circular of Ga. Assoc. Unity and Dependence of the Churches, 
1822. 7. Exposition of the first 17 verses in 12th ch. Rev. 1825. 
8. Dissertation on the Prerequisites to Ordination, 1829. 9. Scrip- 
tural Meaning of Ordination, 1830. 10. Ten Letters on the Atone- 
ment, 1830. 11. Circular Letter of the Bap. State Convention, 1831. 

12. Resemblances and Differences between Church authority, and 
that of an Association, 1833. 13. Essay on the Lord'9 Supper, 

1833 14 Education Sermon — Knowledge indispensable to a Min- 



332 MEMOIRS OF 

ister of God, 1334. 15. History of the Georgia Association, 1836. 
16. Review ->f a certain Report on Church and Associational Dif- 
ficulties, 1837. 17. Sermon on the Importance of Ministerial Un- 
ion, 1835. 18. Sermon on the Excell r.cy of the Knowledge of 
Christ, 1339. 19. Essay — The Cause ot Missionary Societies, the 
Cause of God, 1339. 20. Essay on Forgivene?- of Sins, 1341. 

21. Hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches, 3 numbers, 1341 

22. A Manuscript Sermon on Baptism, founded on Acts 10 : 47. 
ZZ. Manuscript Sermon on Missions, from Matt. 28 : 19. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



Narrative of Mr. Mercer's Life resumed. — Letter to Mrs. R. — Se- 
vere indisposition. — Address to patrons of the Index. — Letter to 
the Georgia Association. — Letter to Mrs. R. — To Heman Lin- 
coln. — Death of Mrs. Mercer. — Letter to Mr. M. — Letter of 
Mr. Curtis to Mr. Mercer. — Mr Mercer's reply. — " Hear what 
the Spirit saith to the Churches," 3 Nos. — His feelings in view of 
his approaching end. 

We now return to something like a more connected 
narrative, for the purpose of giving a hasty sketch of 
the declining days of Mr. Mercer. This account may 
be introduced very appropriately by a letter to an es- 
teemed sister in the Lord, with whom he kept up an 
occasional correspondence for many years. It speaks 
of increasing infirmities. 

TO MRS. R. 

" Washington, March 87, 1839. 
M Dear Sister Dolly, 

u I acknowledge my fault in not replying to your 
former letter. I am too apt to procrastinate till I for- 
get : pardon my neglects. 



*E6SE MERCER. 333 

" As well as I can recollect, you requested in your 
former letter, that your marrying should make no dif- 
ference to us. I considered that you were free to 
marry whom you chose, and of course we ought to 
be content; so you need give yourself no further con- 
cern about that. In your last you speak of old times. 
Truly I often throw my thoughts back on days gone 
by, and many recollections pour in upon my mind, 
rather with a mournful pleasure. Oft have I thought 
of the days of your conviction. That meeting we had 
at Brown's Meeting-house — O what days those were ! 
If it should come in my convenience, it would be as 
much as ever my joy to call and stay with you. But 
my going abroad has become pretty much a matter of 
necessity — of business, and I go where I must. 

" I think I can say with you that I am as ever de- 
termined to be and live for God ; but O my infirmi- 
ties seem to increase upon me, and I am like Sam- 
son when he had lost his strength. I cannot do as 
aforetime, but when I would do good, evil is present 
with me. I feel more and more the need of divine 
help. I always felt as is expressed by Oliver Hart 
in one of his hymns. 

' Some long repent and late believe, 
But when their sins' forgiven, 
A clearer passport they receive, 
And walk with joy to heaven. 

Their pardon some receive at first, 

And then, compelled to fight, 
They feel their latter stages worst, 

And travel much by night.' 

" I should have said I always felt the spirit of this 
last verse, and often called it mine. But I now find 
it still more and more appropriate. But still I do 



334 MEMOIRS or 

not despair. My motto is, trust in the Lord and go 
forward y 

Though Mr. Mercer was occasionally the subject 
of bodily infirmity, yet during his long ministry, he 
was seldom compelled, by disease, to suspend for any 
considerable length of time his useful labors. He was 
particularly favored in being allowed with great punc- 
tuality to attend all the most important meetings of 
his brethren. Advancing years, however, brought 
with them their attendant infirmities, and Mr. Mercer 
found at length his natural force sensibly abating. 
The annual session of the Georgia Association in the 
fall of 1839 was denied the presence of the venera- 
ble moderator ; a violent attack, attended with some 
distressing and alarming symptoms, confining him at 
home. Never before were his brethren so deeply 
conscious of the strong hold which this good man had 
upon their respect, veneration and love. The absence 
of their long-tried and faithful friend, upon whose 
countenance they had often gazed with so much de- 
light ; and whose counsels and instructions they had 
learned so much to value, left in their midst a broad 
and mournful chasm. The countenances, the conver- 
sation, the prayers of the brethren clearly indicated 
the deep sense they had of their bereavement, and 
how tender and strong were their sympathies for the 
venerable sufferer. 

To Mr. Mercer this affliction was rendered pecu- 
liarly trying by the consideration that this was the 
first time for a long series of years that he had been 
absent from a meeting of the Georgia Association. 
He bore it however with exemplary patience, and 
after a few weeks was so far improved in health as to 
be able to resume in a measure his accustomed labors, 



JESSE MERCER. 335 

The last of November he attended a ministers' meeting 
at Powelton ; his patriarchal form was again seen in 
the prayer-meeting and in the pulpit, and occasionally 
he communed with his brethren through the pages of 
the Index. But his outward man was evidently yield- 
ing to decay, and it seemed mournfully obvious to 
his brethren, that a few more rude shocks of disease 
must necessarily close his earthly career. In May, 
1840, he was able to attend the meeting of the Con- 
vention at Penfield ; and though the labors of the oc- 
casion were too much for his enfeebled health, yet he 
gave strict attention to all the important business of 
the session, and aided as usual by his paternal coun- 
sels. Some of the brethren were particularly struck 
with the sweet and heavenly minded spirit which he 
exhibited, remarking that he seemed fast ripening for 
a better world. 

The following communication appeared in a June 
number of the Index, and will probably be interesting 
to the reader of this volume. The writer refers in an 
affecting manner to his own personal afflictions, and 
also to the distressing complaints of his estimable wife. 
It is to be hoped that his exhortations to his brethren 
" to holdfast to the Index" will not be forgotten now 
that he is no more ; and that the paper, amply sus- 
tained by " the right sort of zeal" will long continue 
to defend the cause of truth, and diffuse religious in- 
telligence far and wide amongst the churches. 

" To the Patrons of the Christian Index" 

"of ourself." 

" Dear Brethren and Friends, — In the providence 

of God, I was laid aside from business by a severe 

illness for several weeks, last October, ; and when I 

had recovered so as to go out, I still found myself 



336 Memoirs oP 

laboring under a pining intestine complaint, and which 
has continued varyingly till now. What this case is, 
I am hardly able to say. It may be, as a knowing 
physician said, to me, a kind of rheumatic, gouty state 
of the bowels. This affliction, combined with the in- 
creasing infirmities of age, has rendered me altogether 
unfit for the discharge of the duties of the editorial de- 
partment of the Index ; and it has fallen for the most 
part on the junior editor. Finding I should of neces- 
sity be obliged to give it up, and being desirous that 
it might be continued in the south, I came to the 
conclusion last fall, to place it under the care of the 
Georgia Baptist Convention, as the most sure method 
to secure the continuance of its publication. I there- 
fore made a proposition last winter to the Executive 
Committee to receive it for the Convention, and to 
proceed forthwith to provide for its publication under 
their superintendence ; but the Committee thought it 
might be assuming too much responsibility, and re- 
solved to lay the proposition before the Convention at 
its next meeting. This was accordingly done at 
the late meeting at Penfield, and was accepted ; and 
an order passed that I should be entirely relieved as 
soon as practicable. And it was further resolved that 
the Committee should adopt measures to remove the 
Institution as soon as convenient for publication to 
Penfield. Thus the work will soon, as to necessity 
belongs, pass from my hands, I trust into better. But 
for the present I am not, nor do I see how I can be 
entirely released, if God shall continue my life and 
strength, until the close of the present year. Then it 
is pretty certain it will go into the hands of the Com- 
mittee to be published at Penfield, under the super- 
vision of some persons, who will doubtlessly be ap- 
pointed as a publishing Committee, &c. 






JESSE MERCER. 337 

" And now, my dear friends and brethren, let me 
exhort and admonish, nay, let me beseech you to 
hold fast to the Index. That such a publication is 
needed in the south is acknowledged by many, but too 
few feel the right sort of zeal in the cause. I have 
made many personal sacrifices of convenience, ease 
and pleasure both to myself and family, and hun- 
dreds of dollars to sustain the paper amongst us ; and 
now, will you not take a little extra pains to perpetu- 
ate its publication in the hands of the Convention ] I 
do trust, that those who have been its warm support- 
ers, will not only continue themselves, but make a 
strong effort to induce others to do so. Cannot every 
subscriber, who feels a wish for the prosperity of the 
paper, obtain each another subscriber for the paper 
next year ? It will require a considerable increase 
of good paying subscribers, to sustain the paper as it 
should be sustained, and especially in view of the 
expenses which will, of necessity, be incurred in its 
removal, &c. 

" FURTHER PERPLEXITIES. 

" It is known to many that while I was absent last 
year, attending the Convention in Twiggs, my wife 
was stricken with palsy. On returning home I found 
her in bed, unable to walk. Her entire right side was 
paralyzed — but from this she slowly recovered, so a$ 
to walk about the house, and attend to her domestic 
concerns in some measure. But her other side be- 
came quite painful, and gradually the joints were so 
affected that she was less able to get about. This was 
her situation when I left home to attend the late Con- 
vention in Penfield. But on returning from that 
meeting, I had the distress to find her again in bed, 
by a recurrence of palsy in the left side, so as to be 



MEMOIRS OF 

entirely unable to walk a step. But through the 
mercy of our Heavenly Father, she is again little 
amended — she can now begin to sit up, and with help 
walk across the room. Putting this increase of af- 
fliction in the scale with an increase of my own, since 
the meeting in Penfield, bars, not only my doing much 
in the editorial labors of the paper ; but my further 
going abroad to attend the principal meetings of my 
brethren, or much more mingling with them in public 
service of the cause of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ ; and indicates that I must soon bid them a final 
fareiccll ! To them I now say, Be strong in the 
Lord, and in the power of his might — and be ye faith- 
ful until death, and ye shall receive a crown of life, 
which fadeth not away. 

" Jesse Mercer, the aged." 

The continued afflictions of himself and wife pre- 
vented his attendance at the meeting of the Georgia 
Association in 1S40. Anxious however to manifest 
his affection for his brethren, and to do all in his 
power to promote the cause of the Redeemer, he ad- 
dressed a letter to the body, in which he urged upon 
their attention some matters of great interest to the 
churches. Most of that communication is here sub- 
joined. 

M Washington, (Oa) October 6, 1840. 
"TO THE GEORGIA ASSOCIATION, AT BETHESDA. 

11 Dear Brethren, 

" I have cherished with fond anticipation, the 
hope that I might be permitted to be with with you at 
this your annual meeting ; but the Lord seems to have 
determined otherwise. If my own afflictions would 



JESSE MERCER. 339 

permit, (which however can hardly admit it,) those of 
my palsied wife added, form a complete barrier. I 
think, under the prospect which lies before me, it is 
very problematical whether I shall ever meet with 
you again, in your present capacity on earth. I there- 
fore, in this way, wish to press upon your attention, 
and through you upon the consideration of the 
churches, the importance of a few particulars. We 
have not yet, according to the Apostle's exhortation, 
gone on to perfection in those godly practices, which 
are by Jesus Christ, intended to glorify God, and fill 
the earth with his knowledge and glory. There are 
two things especially, which should be urged upon 
the consideration and practice of the churches, in 
order to their being prepared, fully, to even bear any 
competent part in the instrumentality of this great and 
glorious design of mercy. The one is, a more fre- 
quent and proper observance of * the Lord's day/ 
The Apostle (Heb. 10 : 24, 25.) condemns the manner 
of some, in forsaking to assemble themselves together. — 
Now is it not the manner of the churches, who fail to 
meet together three Sundays out of four, to forsake 
the assembling of themselves together in the sense of 
the Apostle % The churches therefore ought to be 
urged, yea, provoked to this love and good work. I 
shall not attempt a labored argument to prove the 
change of the Sabbath to the first day of the week. 
Let it suffice, that it was changed and has been so 
observed, by the churches, from the Apostle's days 
till now. Our Lord left in charge with the Apostles, 
to teach their disciples ' all things whatsoever he had 
taught them.' And these Apostles have taught us 
that we have them for our examples. Now how is it, 
that the first churches came into the universal observ- 
ance ol the Jirst day of the week as their day of public 



340 MEMOIRS OF 

worship ; and how is it that all christian nations have 
established it by law, if it was not at first established 
by the authority and example of the Apostles them- 
selves ? But there is another view of it. The Apos- 
tle (Rom. 14 : 6.) commends him that esteemed one day 
above another \ in that he regarded it unto the Lord, 
Now then, as all the churches have professed to 
esteem ' the Lord's day' above all others, the obliga- 
tion is imperative to regard it unto the Lord : that is, 
to devote it entirely to his service. Such works of 
mercy, as are stated by Christ in Mat. 12 : 11. and of 
necessity, as in Luke 13 : 15. are lawful to be done 
on the Lord's day. But do not our churches suffer 
their members to start and drive their teams to market 
or other particular business ; or set out on contem- 
plated journeys and travel on the Lord's day, in 
which they employ themselves, their servants and 
beasts of labor as they would on any other day % This 
I take to be equal to harnessing up and going out to 
ploughing in the field ; for he that offends in one 
point is guilty of all ! These things must be remedied. 
— For if the day is not regarded unto the Lord, it 
must be a profanation. I fear this guilt lies upon all 
our churches. 

" The other point to which I solicit the special 
notice of the Association, is, the assembling of the 
churches every Lord's day (familiarly called Sunday) 
for the purpose of religious worship and service. I 
suppose the practice of monthly, instead of weekly 
meetings, grew up out of sheer necessity ; but has not 
this custom continued long since that necessity ceased? 
Whether the churches have settled Pastors or not, 
they should assemble at their own places of worship 
for the instruction of their families, the raising up of 
their children in the nurture and admonition of the 



JESSE MERCER. 341 

Lord, and the training their young men to religious 
habits and usefulness, 

" There is one prominent feature and custom in our 
Lord's character, that has been totally overlooked by 
the churches. It is recorded Luke 4:16. * And he 
came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up : 
and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue 
(or place of worship) on the Sabbath day, and stood 
up for to read J From this it appears, that the child 
Jesus, from the time when he went down with his 
parents to Nazareth and was subject to them, was in 
the constant habit of going every Sabbath day to the 
synagogue to read to the people. Why should not our 
churches adopt the custom of going up to the house 
of the Lord every Sunday and employing their young 
men in reading to the people ] This would tend, I 
apprehend, to another, and a very important result — 
the settling of regular Pastors in the churches. Why 
should not the churches now speedily return to the 
Apostolic plan, and the practice of the first ages % 
This consideration cannot be pressed upon the atten- 
tion of the churches with too much earnestness. 

" And now in conclusion, T hereby individually pre- 
sent my christian love and salutations to each mem- 
ber of your body, and request an earnest interest in 
the prayers of each and all to God for us in our low 
estate, that we may be able to submit ourselves un- 
der the mighty hand of God, with the Spirit of the 
suffering Jesus. 

" Wishing you the presence of the Lord at your 
session and at all other times, 

" I am, dear brethren, 

" Yours in indissoluble bonds, 

" Jesse Mercer." 



342 MEMOIRS OF 



TO MRS. R. 

11 Washington, Feb. 26, 1341. 
44 My dear Sister Dolly, 

" I have received a friendly letter from you eve- 
ry now and then, but as I was burdened with my edi- 
torial labors, and you as it were, heard from me every 
week, through the Index, I did not answer ; but now 
I am not connected at all w T ith the Index, and have 
recovered a little from my decline, I have concluded 
to reply to yours of the 22d inst. I thank you for 
kind and christian remembrance and prayers ; I hope 
these will ever continue while there may be any use 
for them. You say that you had heard yesterday I 
and wife had been sick. 'Tis to me strange that you 
did not know our afflictions before that. I have en- 
joyed no good health since October was a year, and 
Nancy has been palsied since May was a year. 
Until last May it w r as in the right side only, and she 
could hobble about a little in the house, and with 
help in the yard, and even in the garden ; but in 
May last she was stricken in the other side, since 
which time she has not been able to walk at all. But 
this all is trifling compared with the state of her mind. 
It is palsied as much as her body, and gives us much 
more distress. Her health is, however, in some sense 
good : she eats with good appetite, &c. In her weak- 
ness of mind, she is often under the most deceptive 
perceptions, and is not convinceable. She becomes 
mad, and is the most distressed creature you can 
imagine to yourself. 

" I have been in decline more rapidly since about 
November, and till two or three weeks past I have 
been laid aside from all active business, and confined 



JESSE MERCER. 343 

for the most of the time to my room and bed. I 
have not written any letters that could be dispensed 
with, and some of these I got written. For two 
months I have not been to the meeting-house till last 
Sunday, and had thought it probable I should never 
go again on earth. But afflictions spring not from the 
earth. It is the Lord, let him do with me and mine 
as seemeth him good, and I submit. O pray I may 
be able by the help of God, to do it with a good grace. 
I want the Spirit of Christ in this case. 

"Dear Sister D., I remember you with pleasure 
from your youth up. Scenes at Brown's meeting- 
house and thereabouts, have not been effaced from 
my endeared recollection, and ever since in all your 
changes of life, I have had a tender sisterly feeling 
towards you. And I hope the Lord of your youth 
will be the God of your riper age and last days on 
earth, and preserve us both unto his eternal kingdom. 
" I am yours in Christ, 

" Jesse Mercer." 

" Kindest love to brother R" 

TO MR. IIEMAN LINCOLN, OF BOSTON. 

'* Washington, April 11, 1841. 
"My very dear Brother Lincoln, 

"Your very acceptable letter of 27th ult. was 
read with much gratification. I was very glad to 
know that your visit and interview with the Execu- 
tive Committee at Penfield, had resulted in a better 
state of feeling; and I do hope and trust by our 
heavenly Father's good pleasure, will ultimately pro- 
duce a good effect. It was well that you ' escaped 
the flood' and made your way in safety. I trust the 
same good hand will be with you to your journey's 



344 MEMOIRS OP 

end, which had preserved hitherto. But you said 
nothing of your meeting with dear Mrs. L., or how 
you found her. I suppose in good health, at least 
for her, or you would have said something about it. 

" Your visit to me was the more appreciated, from 
the adverse weather through which you made it; 
though the little time which was left you to remain, 
was regretted much by me. I would be thankful 
that you suffered nothing from your exposure to the 
severe inclemency through which you came and went. 
I suppose, in all probability, we may never meet 
again on earth ; but while on earth, I trust we shall be 
prompted to remember and pray for each other by 
this renewal of our intercourse, and that w r e may, 
through grace, be so happy as to meet in that world 
where no sorrow is, but joy and everlasting conso- 
lation. 

" As to the confidential part of your letter, so far as 
it relates to myself, I accord entirely witlj you. I 
suppose you may remember that I w T rote the Board 
at its last election, not to continue me their president 
any longer ; I then thought it most probable that I 
should never be with them more on earth, and that 
any how, it would be better for some one who could 
attend at least oftener, to fill that place. I had come 
to the conclusion to decline a re-election positively 
should I be continued one of the Board at the next 
election, before you suggested it. And now through 
you I say to the brethren who may be elected to the 
Board, if my name should be found among them, not 
by any means ajDpoint me again to that office. I am 
too old, and now too much afflicted to do any good in 
such a place. Indeed, I hope and request that you 
will ask the president of the Committee to let it be 
known that I wish not to be a trustee, or one of the 



JESSE MERCER, 345 

Board of Managers ; as I am altogether unable to do 
any good for the cause abroad. At home, I shall, as 
I may have ability, do what I can in the good cause. 
# * # # # 
"The Lord grant to the Convention a good meeting 
at Baltimore, and give such a direction to all the bu- 
siness of that body, as may be for his glory, 

" My most christian affection to Sister L., and to all 

the dear brethren connected with you in the arduous 

labors of spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth. 

" I am, dear brother, yours in the kingdom and 

patience of Jesus Christ, 

"Jesse Mercer." 

* P. S. My health is, through mercy, still a little 
better. Wife is nothing better. The Lord have 
mercy o?i &«?." 

The afflictions of Mrs, Mercer, so frequently men- 
tioned in the preceding letters, continued with only 
some occasional mitigations, bidding defiance to all 
the attempts of friendship and medical skid to relieve 
them. They were of such a nature as greatly to op- 
press the feelings of her most affectionate and sympa- 
thizing husband, at the same time that they deprived 
him in a great measure of the society of his brethren, 
even at his own house, and by keeping him in a con- 
stant state of confinement, greatly aggravated his own 
bodily complaints. 

On Friday the 2 1st of May, it pleased the Lord to 
cut short her sufferings, by removing her, as is confi- 
dently believed, to a better world.* The following 
letter was written the day after her interment : 

* For a Sketch of the Life and Character of Mrs Mercer, 
Appendix 0. 

10 



346 MEMOIRS OF 

" Washington, May 23, 1841. 
" My Dear Brother M. 

"It is now some time since any thing has passed 
between us. The occasions which you used to have 
to write every now and then have changed to Pen- 
field with the Index, and I have been for the most 
part all winter unable to write except what was in- 
dispensable, and some of that I got written by others. 
Nevertheless, I do desire to have some direct inter- 
course between us kept up. I have rejoiced to find 
how amicably the vexed question went, off at Balti- 
more, when once the brethren had an opportunity of 
personal conversation. I too am happy that our own 
Convention was ultimately so harmonious and pleased 
in the Report of our Delegates on the subject. I do 
hope noio all will go on more peacefully and success- 
fully in the great and best of causes, — in the promo- 
tion, so far as instrumentality goes, of the kingdom of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. We must make an effort to 
redeem the time and money lost last year by the agi- 
tation of the subject of slavery amongst us. 

" My health has been so bad, and my confinement 
so great, that I could do but little except at home ; 
and indeed I need not expect to do much at my 
time of life, and in affliction and increasing infirmi- 
ties. A month ago I thought I was in a fair way to 
be restored, as far as my health was concerned, but I 
have rather declined again. Still I hope there is a 
radical change in the cause of my affliction, and I may 
yet be able to meet my brethren at their more impor- 
tant meeting, other things being equal. 
# * # # # # 

"My dear brother M., I am this- day in quite a 
changed state from that which I have occupied for 
nearly two years. It has pleased the Lord to end the 



JESSE MERCER. 347 

confinement under which I have been ' like a poor 
prisoner bound,' by taking to himseF my dear wife. 
Yes, she is gone to her long Jiome* We placed her 
remains in the house appointed for all living, yester- 
day afternoon, in our meeting-house yard, beside 
which it is designed I shall be laid, when it may be 
the will of God to call me away. You know some- 
what how to sympathize with a poor widower. I 
iind that 

*■ One evil to another cries, 
Billows on billows roll.' 

*' Now that the troubles of a poor distracted wife 
are removed, straightway the solitude, cares, and bur- 
dens of the future pour in upon me with an almost 
'overwhelming power. Pray the Lord for me, my 
clear brother, that I may be sustained, and kept from 
the evil of my remaining days. My Christian love to 
jour lady, and be assured I am as ever, 

" Yours in a precious Redeemer, 

%i Jesse Mercer." 

The following letter, addressed to Mr. Mercer by 
the Rev. Mr. Curtis, on hearing of the death of his 
wife, deserves a place in this volume, as well as Mr. 
Mercer's answer, which immediately follows. 

"Pevfidd, 29/h May, 1841. 
" a My Bear Brother, 

" We have heard here from several quarters of 
die removal, and even of the funeral, of Mrs. Mercer; 
so that, without direct tidings, we conclude that this 
event has transpired. 

" You have been mercifully prepared for it. Af- 



3-18 MEMOIRS OF 

flictions are workmen, as the blessed book tells us— 
and they * work together' or in an important, myste- 
rious union of operations, or they would do us little 
* good.' Y 'our past trials in this case — all its peculiari- 
ties of trial were meant to prepare you for the pre- 
sent trial, and thus became mercies in relation to it ; 
1 working together with ' it. You could not have borne 
the parting, if the union had not become no longer 
hopeful and help-full. You could not bear so well 
your solitude, if the company of a late beloved object 
had not become the source of much pain. Afflictions 
are both light and heavy, according to the skill or 
ignorance, that we may regard as directing them. 
Heavy afflictions do little or light good to the careless 
and the unbeliever. ' Light afflictions which are hut 
for a moment - work out for us, in the skilful hands 
and management of the divine mechanist, ' a far 
more exceeding and eternal iveight cf glory' For he 
can apply that power of a lever by which a feather 
will lift a ton. And afflictions are light and heavy ac- 
cording to the scale on which we regard them. What 
so heavy as death, even a believer's death, when we 
consider it on an earthly scale, or what is removed. 
What so lirfit when we consider it in the scale of 
God's divine plans for his people. It is but an in- 
conceivable transition-point — a moment ! I cannot 
doubt that the believer often first ivakes in glory, with 
entire surprise at the gentleness of his passage, the 
kind manner in which the change has been effected, 
the \itt\e friction, so to speak, of the momentous move- 
ment. 

" All these reflections, however, will be familiar to 
you, I only pen them to assure you of a comparative 
stranger's sympathy. * Jesus wept,' I suppose, by a 
contagion of friendly tenderness. He knew what he 



JESSE MERCER. 349 

would do for his friends, but they did not. Therefore 
they wept, and therefore he. So he sweetly partook all 
the infirmity belonging to the case. You' will find him, 
I doubt not, the same compassionate Redeemer in 
yours. To his almighty — ever well timed grace, I 
would commend you. 

" The brethren here talk of urging you to come 
over, if possible. It will give no one more satisfac- 
tion to see you than the unworthy pastor of the church. 
See whether the scene of many of your hopes, prayers 
and liberal efforts, may not be providentially within 
your reach to re -invigorate your powers. For we 
must go on trading, spending and receiving some little 
more of returns for the Master, until he calls for the 
account you know. 

M Your condoling, affectionate brother in the Lord, 

" Thos. Curtis." 

il Washington, June 8, 1841. 
u Mr dear Brother Curtis, 

" Yours of the 29th ult. was duly handed me, by 
brother S. I thank you for it. Though ' a compara- 
tive stranger/ you have hit on a right expedient. Your 
sympathy and consolation came in the proper time, 
and gave me help in need. I had not thought so zuell, 
what God was doing with me, and for me. I had 
reflected on the cause of my afflictions, and asked the 
Lord, I hope in humility, the reason why ] but it had 
not occurred to me that God was by previous lighter 
trials, preparing me for the last and greater * trial.' 
Indeed, I do not know how I could have borne the 
parting with the dear departed object of my affections 
and solace in life, had it not been for those distressing 
causes Which rendered the * union no longer hope/}// 
and helpful? In this light affliction, are * mercies' in 



3f)0 MEMOIRS OF 

disguise. Of our heavenly Father it may be truly 
said 

'■Boh hid a frowning providence 
He hides a smiling face.' 

" ' Afflictions are workmen.' Truly they work,, and 
always under the skilful direction of infinite wisdom 
and goodness, yield to the poor sufferers who are 
exercised thereby the peaceable fruits of righteousness. 
All we have to do is to 

* Judge not the Lord by feehje sense, 
But trust him for his grace.' 

" * Afflictions are workmen,' working together, one 
with another, and with the ultimate design, or end in 
view, or they surely would do us little good : but as 
they are ordered by the Lord, they work out for us 
an eternal weight of glory. What a wondrous pro- 
duct, from such unpromising seed ! But this is God's 
way with his children : he puts on them light afflic- 
tions, only for a moment, and" then gives them an eter- 
nal weight of glory — everlasting consolation and un- 
mixed, unalloyed pleasures at his own right hand. 

" O, how light and short are all our afflictions here, 
when weighed in this scale ! But these ' workmen' 
are working for us a present and valuable result. — 
They always, however severe, are kind, they come in 
love, and design to make us partakers of the divine 
holiness — to bring us nearer to our Just God and 
Saviour, and conform us more and more to the hea- 
venly standard. 

" Truly afflictions are heavy, if they come alone, 
and work singly in their own simple character, and 
thus they must come to all the unbelieving, who 



• 



JESSE MERCER. 351 

know not God, and love not our Lord Jesus Christ. 
And afflictions are lieavy even to a believer, so long 
as he contemplates them on an earthly scale, or views 
them in their own nature and tendencies. The alle- 
viation lies beyond the veil of flesh and sense, in the 
gracious and eternal results which they are ' working 
together' by ' a mysterious union' to produce ; and is 
realized in considering them as parts of God's plan of 
merciful economy with his children. When God's 
exceeding great and precious promises are viewed 
with believing eyes, the suffering child of grace may 
glory in tribulations; rejoice in this dark vale of 
sorrows and triumph even in death ! Afflictions, 
though roughly clad in vestments of camel's hair, 
must be viewed as the harbingers of everlasting peace 
and rest ; and contemplated on this scale, the man 
of God is not only able to endure them 'patiently, but 
in the meekness of his suffering Forerunner, he wel- 
comes them, as indispensable to the fulfilment of 
God's plan of mercy towards him, and necessary to 
the perfecting of his eternal inheritance in heaven. 

" The sympathy of Christ our Saviour is also a rich 
source of peculiar comfort to an afflicted saint. ' Jesus 
wept.' How consoling the reflection that in all our 
afflictions he is afflicted ; that in his love and pity he 
bears us up ; and strengthens us on the bed of lan- 
guishing. Our High Priest and Mediator is touched 
with a feeling of our infirmities ; yea, what is won- 
derful ! he was made perfect through sufferings, being 
tempted in all points, that he might know how to 
succor them that are tempted, in all their afflictions. 

" Your brother in Christ, 

" Jesse Mercer." 



MEMOIRS 01 



TO MR. 11EMAN LINCOLN, 



" Washington, June 23, 1841. 
• * # # * 

*i I suppose you have seen, or heard of the death of 
my clear tuife. When you were at our house she was 
in one of her best times, calm and somewhat reason- 
able and capable of taking a degree of pleasure in 
the rehearsal of former things which in their enjoy- 
ment had interested her ; but she soon became dis- 
ordered and distressed and distressing; and so conti- 
nued with short intervals to be more palsied in her 
limbs, and more lost to herself. No mortal can con- 
ceive what she suffered in her mental feelings. She 
was perpetually in a labyrinth of imaginations the 
most inconsistent in themselves, and the most harass- 
ing to herself. This continued to increase till the 
16th May, when she had a slight turn of apoplexy, 
from which she mainly lost her power of action : was 
mostly disposed to sleep. On Tuesday she at times 
seemed to know those about her ; and expressed her- 
self as quite to herself. The friends present thought 
she was so, and if she could have talked, she could 
have satisfied us she was. Indeed she did say so 
much, late that evening, as gave me to believe she 
was dying in Jiojie in the love of Jesus. She never 
spake after Wednesday morning, nor opened her 
eyes, no not in death ! which occurred Friday night 
about forty-five minutes after ten o'clock. I am in 
desolate widowhood ; in this you and dear sister L. 
can sympathize with me. My health, which had 
somewhat improved when you were with me, soon 
began to degenerate, and I am not much amended 
yet. I have it in view to go up to Penfield and spend 
a little while with friends there ; and after the com- 



Jesse tokncER. 353 

melicement, go up the country higher; and see if 
change of place and company will not have some 
good effect on my health : but the will of the Lord be 
done. I wish above all things I could know the will 
of God concerning me, and do it, or suffer it in a 
Ohrist4ike manner, to his honor while I live. O 
pray, my dear brother, that the spirit of the Lord 
may still be my guide and comforter till death; that 
my little remaining time may not be spent in useless- 
ness and pinings D 

"Tell brother Bolles that I received his letter in 
reply to mine on the subject of ' the vexed question.* 
But as all things in reference to the Board's actings 
on that question were going on, as I thought, well, 
I did not think it necessary to write any thing fur- 
ther on it. Besides, I was at that time under cir- 
cumstances which rendered it very inconvenient to 
write any thing. I trust and hope the Board will 
be able now to carry forward all their present op- 
erations if they cannot enlarge them, Though the 
times are very trying in pecuniary matters, the crops 
are rather promising, and if they should turn out 
good, I think we shall be able to make up our loss. 

" I see brother Davis has been with you. Brother 
Peck says lie added considerable interest to your 
anniversaries. I hope he may be useful wherever 
he goes by the good Spirit of our God upon him. 

" You will make my best christian regards to 
sister L. and all the dear brethren of the Board. 

" I am, dear brother, yours in much affection and 
in the kingdom and patience of Christ our Lord, 

" Jesse Mercer/* 

It must be evident that Mr. Mercer's protracted 
afflictions rendered it impossible for him at this time 

16* 



354 sfEMoms of 

to give much attention to his ministerial labors',, 
Mis lack of sen-ice in this respect was very usefully 
Supplied by brother C. F. Sturgis, a highly esteemed 
brother in the ministry, who had been chosen early 
in the year as co-pastor of the church at Washington. 

Occasionally however, as his circumstances would 
allow, he mingled with his beloved flock in the sanc- 
tuary, to encourage them by his prayers, exhortations 
and instructions in the ways of righteousness and 
peace. He had a place in their tenderest affections;' 
his presence always afforded them delight ; yet a 
delight now blended with the mournful reflection, 
that their beloved and venerated pastor, fast sinking 
under the weight of years and disease, must soon bid 
them farewell. It was but a few times that he was 
able to ascend the pulpit, during the last ten or twelve 
months of his life; his occasional addresses to his peo- 
ple were below, and when speaking, such was the fee 
ble state of his body, that he frequently found it neces- 
sary to remain in a sitting posture. 

Mr. Mercer manifested a commendable solicitude 
for the spiritual welfare of the colored portion of his 
flock. Though during his last days he was not able to 
give much personal attention to them, yet he encou- 
raged his co-laborer Mr. Sturgis, and the most active 
members of his church, to hold religious meetings on. 
all suitable occasions for their benefit. These efforts 
were not in vain. In May a work of grace com- 
menced amongst the blacks, which seemed to advance 
with happy consequences for one or two successive 
years. As has been previously stated, the number of 
members reported in 1S40, was 87 ; in 1843 it was 
181. This increase was principally from amongst the 
blacks, and furnishes a pleasing view of the results of 
the work of grace, to which reference is now made. 



JESSE MEftCEH. 355 

It was the ardent desire of Mr. Mercer, to be useful 
as long as he lived. In a letter to an esteemed bro- 
ther he says, " I have deprecated before God, a worn 
out, useless and sinful old age." 

Though cut short by the hand of God in his minis- 
terial labors, he roused himself up from time to time 
to such efforts with his pen as he thought might be 
acceptable and useful to his brethren. His Essay on 
the Forgiveness of Sins, already noticed, was written 
in the midst of his great domestic afflictions. At a 
subsequent period he prepared three numbers for the 
Index, which were published under the caption, "Hear 
ivhat the Spirit saitli to the churches" They were 
his last efforts with his pen intended for the public 
eye ; and as they may be regarded as the valedictory, 
the dying counsel of this Father in Israel, they pro- 
perly claim a place in these pages dedicated to his 
memory. 

" Bro. Stokes, — I have concluded to send your 
readers a few more Nos. on a subject which I deem 
of vital importance to the churches. I fear many of 
them are settled on their lees ; or are living in great 
remissness, and neglect of duty ; that they do not con- 
sider well the obligations they are under to preserve 
their own purity, or fitness for the acceptable discharge 
of the duties required of them. I write to stir them 
up to a more lively sense of what they ought to do, if 
possible to provoke them, by plain scriptural repre- 
sentations, to love and good ivories. I do this, the rather, 
because, though I wish I could do better, I am obliged 
to say, with Newton's kite, 

1 But ah ! like a poor prisoner bound, 
My siring confines me to the ground.' 



356 memoirs ai 

'•It seems to be the good pleasure of God still to 
confine me, by continued affliction. I cannot indulge 
in the hope of getting out and doing any thing of 
greater utility, and therefore, give vent to my desires 
in this ivay. I hope and pray my effort may be ac- 
ceptable to the churches, and for the use of their edifi- 
cation. I am both theirs and yours in Christ. 

" Jesse Mercer/' 

•' Washington, March, 1841-" 



" Hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches. 11 
No. 1. 

fllE INTRODUCTION. 

" The sacred injunction is placed in the close of each 
epistle, sent from Jesus Christ, the great Head of the 
Church, by his servant John, to the seven churches 
which were in Asia. The reiteration was doubtless 
designed to give weight and importance to the divine 
mandate, and to engage the particular attention of each 
and all the churches to the momentous things spoken. 
The command to hear, or attend to the things which 
the Spirit spake, must not be limited to the seven 
churches in Asia, but considered as equally binding on 
the observance of all the churches of Christ in any 
part, or age of the world. This will not be contro- 
verted. Then let it be also carefully noticed, that the 
requirement is made, not only of the churches collec- 
tively, but of every member rjarticularly ; ! he, that 
hath an ear to hear/ is called on to hear what the 
Spirit saith unto the churches. And this strikingly 
proves, that ivhat is the duty of all, is the duty of each ; 
or in other words, that each member has a special ob- 
ligation resting on him, as well as an inviting interest, 



JE'SSE MERCER. %5ft 

m the things taught ; nor are we to understand the 
things commanded to be heard, as referring to what 
is contained in these epistles merely, but in the whole 
book, (see chap. 1 : 1.1.) and not the things written 
in this book only, but to all the holy scriptures ; for 
they were all given by inspiration of the Spirit, and 
are required to be read, searched, preached and heard 
by all, that the man of God may be thoroughly fur- 
nished unto all good works. 

" The Spirit teaches the churches* as well by the 
figures and characteristics used, as in the declarations 
made, and the exhortations and commands addressed. 
By the epithets of character assumed for our Lord 
Jesus Christ, they are shown how glorious is He, who 
is exalted to be their supreme Head and sovereign 
lawgiver. They exhibit him to be, what he affirms 
of himself, One with his Father-^equul in majesty, 
power and glory. Thus he appeared, and announced 
himself to the exiled John, in the isle of Patmos, say- 
ing, • I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the 
ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and 
which is to come, the Almighty/ This description of 
character belongs to God alone, and is unlawful to be 
assumed by any creature. Therefore, this declaration, 
together with the characters given him in the be- 
ginning of each of these epistles, fully proves him to 
possess all authority and dominion, and worthy to be 
worshipped by angels and men, as God over all, bless- 
ed for ever. 

" This appearance was most heavenly and divine. 
Christ here manifests himself in his mysterious union 
of natures, in his mediatorial and God-like characters. 
His dress indicates his kingly and priestly offices. 
His robe and girdle arc rather vestments of the priest- 
hood. His head and hair, white as snow, show him to 



35S MEMOIRS OF 

be ' the ancient of days.' His eyes being like a flame 
of fire, denotes the terribleness with which he flashes 
vengeance on his foes, and beams his love on his 
friends, and proves to all the churches, that it is He, 
that searches the reins and hearts. His feet, like bur- 
nished brass, may signify the firmness of his going 
forth, and the brightness of those dispensations, in 
which he treads down his enemies, as mire in the 
street ; or comforts his people with salvation. His 
voice, as a trumpet — as the sound of many waters, 
indicates the exceeding greatness of his power, the 
dreadful majesty of his speech. Let Sinai tell the 
awful tale — let the red" sea and Jordan repeat the 
story — -let Moses and Habakkuk bear their witness — 
let John testify this solemn truth. His countenance, 
like the sun shining in his strength, may show the in- 
finite blessedness of his favor, which is life, and his 
loving kindness, which is better than life. 

" How terrible must this sight have been to John ; 
yet how delightful ! how dreadful, yet how joyful ! 
So dreadful was Christ Jesus to look upon in his hea- 
venly habiliments, that John fell at his feet as dead ; 
but his Lord and beloved Master, who had lost noth- 
ing of his tenderness, drew near and laid his right 
hand softly on him, and said, as it were, It is I. Be 
not afraid. I am Jesus, who was dead ! but I live ! 
and behold I am alive for evermore. Amen. 

" How comfortable must this visit of Jesus Christ 
have been to his servant John, in his desolate and drea- 
ry solitude. He was then indeed, in pressing need of 
comfort ; and Jesus did not prove unmindful of his 
promise to his disciples, (John 14 : 18.) but came to 
his beloved disciple in distress, and comforted and 
blessed him greatly. And are not the churches, (and 
all believers individually,) taught and encouraged by 



JESSE MERCER. 359 

this wonderful display of glory and grace to trust in 
the Lord in all their deepest afflictions and severest 
trials ; and confidently to believe that it shall be well 
with them, and that they shall not be forsaken in six 
troubles, and in seven no ultimate, or final evil shall 
be suffered to come nigh them ] For thus saith the 
Lord, * when thou passest through the waters, I will 
be with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall not 
overflow thee ; when thou walkest through the fire 
thou shalt not be burned ; neither shall the flame kin- 
dle upon thee.' Again, ' as thy days, so shall thy 
strength be— -The eternal God is thy refuge ; and un- 
derneath are the everlasting arms.' Again ; ' The 
Lord is thy keeper; The Lord is thy shade upon thy 
right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor 
the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee 
from all evil ; he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord 
shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming in, from 
this time forth, and for evermore/ Truly, the Lord 
has given his people exceeding great and precious 
promises for their consolation in trouble. 

" The characters in which our Lord Jesus is mani- 
fested in scripture, as having all power in heaven 
and earth, and head over all things to the church, in- 
spire hope, without doubt, and confidence without 
fear, that all these promises will be faithfully fulfilled. 
His means are ample. Among these he has given his 
ministers to strengthen and encourage them ; saying, 
' comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.* 
And (speaking of things that are not, as though they 
were already done) he saith, i Cry unto them, that 
their warfare is accomplished, that their iniquity is 
pardoned ;' for they have received of the Lord's hand, 
instead of punishments for their sins, double the amount 
in blessings. What wondrous goodness and mercy ! 



360 MEMOIRS OF 

J] ut let none judge of the Lord's ways by feeble sense* 
The method of fulfilling his promises, God has re- 
served, with the times and the seasons^ under his own 
power. God will be trusted, as faithful, and waited 
on as sovereign, by his people. He often bears long 
with them, to try their faith and integrity, and to draw 
out their prayer and importunity at his throne of grace. 
But I must close these prefatory remarks, and ask your 
readers to wait till next week for my next No." 



" Hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches" 
No. 2. 

THE CANDLESTICKS. 

" The considerations which have been suggested in 
the introduction, plainly show the weighty obligations 
under which the churches lie, to obey the voice of 
Him who spake from heaven, and the dire conse- 
quences of disobedience. I therefore most earnestly 
solicit them to attend carefully to what may be said in 
the following essay. 

" The Spirit teaches the churches some useful les- 
sons by the use of the candlestick as a figure, to rep- 
resent the churches. It seems that this is the appro- 
priate figure which God has chosen to represent his 
church on earth ; to show its nature, consistency and 
design. It was a part of the furniture of the Taber- 
nacle, and shown to Zechariah in vision. And Christ 
in his sermon, brings it into view in its projper use, to 
hold up the candle of the ministry he was about to 
light up, to illuminate this dark world. And here the 
seven candlesticks represent the churches which were 
in Asia. 

" The precious material of which the candlestick 



JESSE MERCER, 3Gi 

used in sacred figure was composed, shows the pre- 
ciousness, nature and consistency of the church of 
Christ, as it is in the divine estimate, and what all 
churches ought to be in practice, as near as the frailty 
of human wisdom, and careful endeavor will admit. 
Moses was commanded to make the candlestick of 
pure gold. That shown to Zechariah was all of gold. 
And here the seven were golden candlesticks. This 
quality in the candlesticks must have been designed 
to represent some special trait of character in the 
churches of Christ, and it is easiest to conceive that 
which it is most appropriate to show, that is, of what 
the churches are composed, their preciousness and 
durability. And, 

" First ; of what the churches, according to the di- 
vine purpose, are composed. 

" It is altogether reasonable to conclude that God, 
on determining to make himself a residence on earth, 
would choose out and build it of such materials as 
would do him honor. Accordingly, we find all the 
figures and prophecies of the Old Testament, relat- 
ing to this subject, show that the house whose founda- 
tion and builder is God, is framed of such materials 
as constitute it ' the perfection of beauty? This view, 
the choice materials and exquisite workmanship of 
the tabernacle, and afterwards, the still more excel- 
lent materials and the acuter workmanship of the 
temple, illustrate and confirm. — The Zion of God, 
which he loved, was accordingly composed only of the 
sons of God, who were comparable to fine gold, yea, 
to most fine gold. They were his sanctified ones — 
his jewels, whom he had reserved to himself to show 
forth his praise. Of this ecclesiastical characteristic, 
the first church constituted by the apostles, was a fair 
exemplar. It was built up in ' the apostles doctrim 



362 MEMOIRS OF 

and fellowship? that is, they were constituted in the 
belief of the truth, taught by the apostles, having 
gained fellowship with them, by the profession of it. 
And it is also evident that they had gained fellowship 
one with another, for they icerc of one accord, of one 
heart and one soul. This apostolic example forms the 
true pattern for the constitution of all after churches. 
We are not informed of the particular ceremony used 
by the apostles in the constitution of this church ; nor 
indeed are we of the form used in the constitution of 
any of the New Testament churches ; but the ac- 
count given of those churches, leaves no doubt but 
that they were regularly constituted, as was the first 
church, in 'the apostles' doctrine and fellowship.' It 
cannot be questioned for a moment but that they who 
believed, repented and were baptized, on the day of 
pentecost, were imbodied as a church of Jesus Christ, 
else how could others have been daily added to them 
as such] And that none but true converts were 
joined to them, is evident from the fact, that the Lord 
added to them, and only such as should be saved. 
And such were the solemnities thrown around those 
who were invited in fellowship, that it is said, * of the 
rest durst no man join himself to them; but believers 
were the more added to the Lord/ Paul speaks of 
those who should be built up in church union, as gold, 
silver, and precious stones ; and Peter as lively stones, 
built up a spiritual house. It is plain the scriptures 
nowhere admit of a mixture of membership in the 
churches of Christ. It follows, therefore, that all 
churches (so called) built upon any other principle, or 
formed together on any other model, or consolidated 
on any national foundation, are only human establish- 
ments, and fail of the true consistency of the churches 
oi' Jesus Christ. 



JESSE MERCER. 363 

u Secondly. The jpreciousness of Christ's churchy 

" To show how precious the church is to Christ, I 
need to say nothing more than that he gave himself 
for her. The worth of any thing is to be estimated 
by the value of the price it costs. Then in this case, 
the value to be set upon the church must be infinite ; 
for he did not redeem her with silver and gold, but 
with his own precious blood — and who can calculate 
the worth of Christ's blood % O how precious must 
the church have been to Christ ! The interest which 
he takes in his people passeth knowledge. Paul rep- 
resents it as ' the riches of the glory of his (Christ y s) 
inheritance in the saints.' — But who can estimate the 
riches of his glory ? Who can put a value upon un- 
searchable riches % 

" There is another view in which Christ's people 
are precious. That is complacently. This is in re- 
gard to what they are by his grace bestowed upon 
them, and the purposes of mercy designed to be ac- 
complished by their instrumentality. By his grace 
he forms them for himself. The design which Christ 
had in view when he gave himself 'for his peoj)le, was 
that he might present them to himself a glorious 
church. And for this purpose they were chosen in 
him ; and he is made of God unto them wisdom, and 
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. And 
in accordance the church sings, ' I will greatly rejoice 
in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God, for 
he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, 
he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, 
as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and 
as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.' To the 
same end it is said, ' the king's daughter is all glorious 
within; her clothing is of wrought gold.' 

" And again. ' This people,' saitli the Lord, * have 



364 MEMOIRS OF 

I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise.' 
And of every one of his people, he saith, * I have 
created him for my glory.' And hence the command, 
— 'Declare his glory among the heathen; his mar- 
vellous works among all nations.' It is clearly the 
purpose of God, through the instrumentality of his 
sanctified ones, to fill the world with his knowledge 
and praise. And hence David prays, and every pi- 
ous Christian prays, — ' Let the people praise thee, O 
God ; let all the people praise thee. O let the na- 
tions be glad, and sing for joy : and let the w r hole 
earth be filled with his glory. — Amen, and Amen.' 

" Thirdly. The durability of the church of Christ. 

" The indestructible character of the church of 
Christ is not only indicated by the golden quality of 
the candlesticks, but by Paul's gold, silver, and pre- 
cious stones, and Peter's lively stones, showing clearly 
the imperishable nature of those of whom God has 
instituted his churches should be built. God saith, 
I lay in Zion for a foundation a precious stone ; and 
the gospel order is, that precious stones be built upon 
it. In perfect accordance Christ says, upon this rock, 
(this precious corner stone.) I build my church, and 
the gates of hell shall never prevail against it. The 
Zion which the Lord loves, he founded for himself, 
and therefore declares she shall never be moved. 
Paul in unison says, we have received a kingdom 
which cannot be moved ; or as is said of the kingdom 
signified by the stone cut out of the mountain, it shall 
stand for ever. This enduring character of the church 
is derived from her union with Christ. From him, 
as her head and source of all spiritual and divine in- 
fluence, she derives her life — and that is eternal life — 
she is made partaker of the divine nature ; and from 
him, as her formation, being formed in him, and fitly 



j 



JESSE MERCER. 3G5 

framed into him, she receives her strength and salva- 
tion — she is build ed up a glorious church— a spiritual 
house, which shall never be confounded, world with- 
out end. 

" But it has been said, that though the church, as 
such, cannot be destroyed, yet the individual members 
may. Their safety being conditioned on their faith 
and obedience, which may fail. They may perish. 
To this I allege ; that, as the body is composed of its 
members, if they can perish, it follows as a matter of 
course that the body may also. The parts of any 
whole being destroyed, the whole must be lost also. 
So then the only way in which the church, as a body 7 
can be secure, is in the security of each member ; for 
if one member may fall, it follows so may all. But 
the scriptures have provided amply against this sug- 
gestion. I shall only refer to a few passages. • Isaiah 
admits that the Zion of God may become, by various 
and severe afflictions, distressing and even over- 
whelming calamities, a city of solemnities ; yet an- 
nounces her to be a tabernacle that shall not be taken 
down. And then, as if to prevent the doubt that 
some of the parts might be injured or lost, he adds, 
not one of the stakes thereof shall ever he removed, nei- 
ther shall any of the cords thereof be broken. Our 
Lord says it is not the ivill of his Father that one of 
the little ones who believe in him should perish. And 
again: that he came into the world, that whosoever 
should believe in him, should not perish, but have 
eternal life. God having promised his Son a nume- 
rous seed that should serve him and endiire for ever, it 
was provided in the stipulations of the everlasting 
covenant, that should any of them fall away into neg- 
ligence and crime, their transgression and iniquity 
should be visited with the stripes of the Father's 



A'G MEMOIRS Or 

chastising rod, which is always clone in love, and for 
their profit, and in faithfulness to him, of whose trav- 
ail of soul, they were to he both the fruit and reward. 
Now then, if the wandering will be restored, (and 
that they will, see the parable of the hundred sheep, 
and mark its bearing on this case,) the good and obe- 
dient children will doubtless be saved ; and then as a 
matter of course, all will be saved ; and our Lord will 
be able, with joyful acclamation, to say to his Father, 
1 behold I and the children which God hath given me.' 
" A few reflections will close this number. How 
wonderful is the kingdom of God — the church of 
Christ on earth ! glorious things are spoken of Zion, 
the city of God. For her defence, salvation has God 
appointed for walls and bulwarks. Her safety, there- 
fore, is in the munition of rocks. Though hosts of 
men and devils may encamp against her, yet the in- 
habitants may be undismayed, rejoice and be strong 
and confident in this, that with their besiegers, in all 
the mighty multitude of them, there is but an arm of 
flesh, but with them is the Lord their God to help 
them, and to fight their battles. Their bread shall be 
given them, and their waters shall be sure. We may 
safely exclaim, happy art thou O Israel, who is like 
unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, who is the 
shield of thy help, and the sword of thy excellency. 
But let no man deceive himself, and conclude from 
hence, that he may indulge in the gratification of his 
lusts, and live according to the j:>leasures of the flesh, 
and he safe: For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall 
die. ' There is in the doctrine of believers' perse- 
verance in grace, no tendency to licentiousness. 'Tis 
only as the fruits of faith and love abound in them, 
showing them to be the children of God, that they 
have any right to claim the joys of this salvation. Let 



JESSE MERCER. 367 

all, therefore, who name the name of the Lord, in 
profession, denying all ungodliness and worldly lusts, 
strive to live soberly, righteously and godly in the 
present world, w T hile they are looking for that blessed 
hope and glorious appearing of the great God, even 
our Lord Jesus Christ, into eternal life, which he has 
promised to all them that love him." 



"Hear ivhat the Spirit saitJi unto the Churches" 
No. 3. 

" By the appropriate use of the candlestick, the 
Spirit teaches the churches their proper and impera- 
tive duty. As the candlestick holds up a lighted can- 
dle, that it may give light to all in the room, so the 
churches are to hold up the light of divine truth to the 
nations of the earth, enveloped in gross darkness. 
The light by which the churches are to shine, is two- 
fold : First— The light of grace which they received 
in regeneration, and which is supported and increased 
by the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ. Every be- 
liever is a lighted lamp, a number of whom being 
gathered into church union, makes the church a 
luminous body. Thus Paul says to the saints at 
Ephesus, \ ye were sometimes darkness, but now 
are ye light in the Lord.' The duty of church 
members, in this regard is also two-fold: First — In 
using their gifts, and manifesting their graces in the 
most impressive manner, one to another, and to those 
with whom they are conversant, individually. And 
secondly; in their united church state, to act in uni- 
son with the body, in making known the knowledge 
of Christ to the world, among whom they shine as 
lights. This position will commend itself to every 
man's conscience at once, that the performance of 



3GS MEMOIRS OF 

those great ecclesiastical duties, which are essential to 
the fulfilment of the important purposes for which 
they were raised up together, and made to sit together 
in heavenly places in Christ — even in a gospel church 
state, depends on a proper and faithful discharge of 
the sacred obligations which rest on the members as 
individuals. For. in proportion as the members are 
fervent in love, holy in devotion, and godly in prac- 
tice, the church will be active in every good work, 
abounding in all the fruits of righteousness, which are 
by Jesus Christ to the glory of God. But as the mem- 
bers are carnally minded, conformed to the world, 
and negligent in religious duties, or only perform 
them in a formal manner, as a matter of course, so 
will the church dwindle into insignificance, and be- 
come to the community a curse rather than a blessing. 
How important then is it, that each member should 
have his lamp trimmed and his light burning, that in 
himself, and one with the church, he may, as not be- 
ing his own, but bought with a price, even the precious 
blood of Jesus Christ, glorify God in his body, and in 
his spirit which are God's ! Secondly. The light 
of the gospel ministry. This ministry is Christ's light- 
ed candle to illume the world with the light of the 
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus 
Christ. This, the churches are raised up to support 
and strengthen in the propagation of the word of life, 
which can be done only by sustaining the ministers 
thereof, as the gifts of Christ to them ; for the work 
of the ministry, and the edifying of the body of Christ, 
(or the whole church of God,) till the gracious design 
be brought to a happy and glorious perfection. This 
indispensable duty requires to be discharged in two 
ways. First, by a due regard to their character and, 
standing before the public. Ministers must have a 



JESSE MERCER. 369 

good report from those who are tvithoat. — For which 
purpose, all who approve themselves as the ministers 
of Christ should be received with all gladness and 
held in reputation ; for how can they have a good 
estimation among the people, unless their brethren 
are careful to commend them to their respectful at- 
tention ! — In this most needful particular, I think 
many churches are very defective. They, (at least 
many among them, who would be thought knowing 
ones,) have, instead of commending in the best man- 
ner they could, rather held an evil, critical eye on 
their preachers, especially on those who are coming 
forward as candidates for the ministry. And their 
mistakes and slips have been waxed and magnified 
into faults, and these very imprudently have been 
made the topics of free remark before the multitude, 
no little to the detriment of the incumbents. The 
light estimation in which many ministers have been 
held may be owing, in a great degree, to the cheap 
rate at which ordinations have been had in many of 
our churches. From a pretty extensive observation, 
I am of opinion, that in many instances, a reckless- 
ness has been indulged in regard to scripture require- 
ments. In examinations for ordination, the object has 
not been so much to ascertain whether the brother 
about to be set apart to the gospel ministry, was able 
and apt to teach its great fundamental and mysterious 
truths, and by his experimental feelings and religious 
views, to gain a reasonable and satisfactory evidence 
that God had made him by his Spirit and grace, an 
able minister of the New Testament, as to know his 
views on a few systematical points of doctrine, and 
his popular standing as a preacher, which has been 
taken as good evidence of usefulness. — Thus a good 
slight at deelamation and exhortation has been re- 

1 7 



370 MEMOIRS OF 

ceived as ability sufficient to preach and defend the 
deep things of God, and to explain and enforce the 
ordinances of Christ. But where little has been re- 
quired, little has been sought for or attained. And so 
it has turned out, that many a man, ordained of men 
to preach, has had neither talent nor ministerial repu- 
tation sufficient to sustain a commendation. Never- 
theless, it behooves the churches, in my judgment, to 
see to it that their ministers always bear proper cre- 
dentials and letters of commendation, at all times and 
in all places, where they may, in the providence of 
God, be placed. 

"But secondly; by affording them of the good 
things of this life, a competent support. If any one 
will look soberly at the work of the ministry, he will 
see at once that the ministers of the gospel have no 
time to spare to labor for their own support. This 
the scripture has foreseen and provided for, by mak- 
ing it the duty of the churches to support the minis- 
try. This has always been God's plan ; and wherever 
an attempt has been made to change it, it has been at- 
tended with a curse. — Look at Israel after the flesh. 
The tribe of Levi, who were appointed to the service 
of the sanctuary, had no landed inheritance among 
their brethren, but were provided for by the tithes 
which the other tribes were to pay according to the 
statutes of the Lord ; plainly indicating that the min- 
isters of the spiritual Israel should be supported by 
the churches, independent of their own labors. Let 
it suffice to say again, this is God's plan, and should 
be punctually and faithfully executed. Let us exam- 
ine into the work of the ministry, and see what minis- 
ters have to perform, and it will readily appear that 
they must be supported by the churches, or the work 
will go undone. This will be clearly seen by a criti- 



HH3SE MERCEfU 371 

«cal notice of Christ's illustration of his design, when 
he said to his disciples, c ye are the light of the world? 
To give his meaning an impressive bearing on their 
minds, (and on ours too,) he laid down two proposi- 
tions of universal admission,, The first is, ' A city 
that is set on a hill, cannot be hid.' He alludes, doubt- 
less, to a city with lamps burning, else the darkness 
of the night would hide it. But a eity set on a hill, 
and well lighted, is not only inconcealable, but throws 
its light out in every direction, so that the lost and. 
benighted traveller may find the highway which leads 
to safety and rest : or as a light-house, built on some 
projecting promontory, directs the storm-beaten and 
distressed mariner safely into port. This most plainly 
shows that Christ intended his churches, built on ' the 
high hill of God J and lighted by the glorious gospel, 
should throw their light on all parts of the surround- 
ing country : so that the lost sinner, involved in worse 
than Egyptian darkness, may be enlightened and 
guided into the way to peace and salvation. But our 
Lord does not stop here — He adds still more impress- 
ively, * Men do not light a candle and put it under a 
bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto 
all that are in the house/ The house here answers to 
the world used in the statute — ' ye are the light of the 
world? And if any should inquire what is meant by 
the * world/ the commission must explain it. Go ye, 
teach all nations — go ye into all the world, and preach 
the gospel to every creature. Repentance and remis- 
sion of sins should, in the name of Christ, be preached 
among all nations. This is all plain. Our Lord in 
this position says to his disciples, (and to all churches 
and ministers,) I have lighted you as a candle, which 
is not to be obscured, but to be put on my candlestick 
— the church, that it may give light to all the ends of 



372 MEMOIRS OP 

the earth. The duty here inculcated cannot be mis- 
taken, neither by ministers nor churches ; and they 
ought to consider themselves systematically united in 
this great work, and bound to co-operate in it. 

" Bro. Stokes ; — Just here I was arrested by in- 
creased personal and domestic afflictions, and forced 
to stop. I hoped I should be able to resume the 
work in some short time, but circumstances which 
have transpired since, have precluded it. I cherished 
the hope I should be able to do something at it at th>s 
place, but still, imbecility, both of body and mind, 
forbids it. I have come to the conclusion to send you 
the foregoing now, and promise, if God will permit,. 
to send you at least two others. One on the inde- 
pendence and accountability of the churches, and the 
relative position of the ministry to them, and the other 
on their government, its extent and final jurisdiction*. 

"Jesse Mercer." 

" Penficld, July 20th, 1341." 

It has ever been a matter of deep interest (and most 
naturally so,) with the people of God, to know with 
what kind of emotions a long-tried, and eminent servant 
of Christ looks forward into eternity as he is going 
rapidly down the declivity of life. Mr. Mercer was 
sometimes approached by intimate and confidential 
brethren on this subject. His remarks in substance 
were; " I have no ecstatic joys ; not so much of that 
triumphant assurance which some speak of; but an 
humble hope of heaven, an habitual, calm reliance 
on my blessed Redeemer, which enables me to con- 
template my approaching end with composure, undis- 
turbed by any very distressing apprehensions." In 
the following extract from a letter to a beloved minis- 
tering brother, written in January, 1S41, there is an 



JESSE MERCER. 373 

illusion to his state of mind, in view of his final change. 
After referring to a little matter of a somewhat un- 
pleasant nature, and which had occasioned him some 
mortification, he adds, " I hope you will feel no dis- 
pleasure against your humble servant — he really ac- 
counts you a good minister of Jesus Christ, and is 
always pleased to hear you ; and I hope and pray the 
Lord may abundantly crown your labors in the Lord 
with success, 

" And now what shall I say to my brother ] I may 
never write to him, or see him more in life. Why, my 
brother, be strong in the Lord and in the power of 
his grace, and be thou faithful unto death, 

" You may wish to know how I feel in the prospect 
of my departure being at hand. I can say little more 
than that I have no fears thus far on the path of the dark 
valley. I have long since given my eternal destiny 
up into the hands of God, and am satisfied with his 
disposal of me in sickness and in death, and for eter- 
nity. My love to all the dear brethren in your parts. 
The Lord be specially with thee. Farewell ! " 



CHAPTER XV. 



Mr. Mercer's decline regarded with sorrow. — His last Sermon. — 
Sketch of the Sermon. — Visits Penfield. — Letter to Mr. Sturgis. — 
Visits Indian Springs. — Letter to Mr. Sturgis. — His Death. — 
Mr. Carter's Letter in relation to his death. — Resolutions of the 
Washington Baptist Chinch. — Of the Presbyterian Church. — 
Notice of Mr. Sturgis' Funeral Sermon. 

We look with painful interest upon decaying ob- 
jects which we revere and love. We even sympa- 
thize with the objects of nature around us, and often 



374 MEiM0IR8 OF 

gaze upon their decline with melancholy emotions. 
The aged tree which stood so long by our paternal 
residence, which cast its grateful shadow over our 
childish sports, and often perhaps refreshed us in man- 
hood's years, as it exhibited symptoms of decay, was 
gazed upon with a kind of filial sorrow ; 

1 And when a hapless branch, torn by the blast, 
Fell down, we mourned as if a friend had fallen/ 

With how much deeper emotion do we look upon the 
waning life of the aged man of God, who for half a 
century has stood before the people on a bright and 
commanding elevation, pre-eminent in piety, unequal- 
led in wisdom, distinguished for usefulness, and the 
object of almost universal confidence, admiration and 
love. Such an object was the venerable Mercer ; and 
with the deepest emotions of sorrow did his Christian 
brethren gaze upon his wasting form. 

Early in the month of June Mr. Mercer ascended 
the pulpit for the last time, to address his fellow men 
upon the all important concerns of eternity. It being 
previously known in the town that he was to preach, 
(perhaps his final sermon,) the other houses of worship 
were closed, and a large assembly convened to hear 
his solemn valedictory. He spoke for about an hour 
with considerable freedom and animation ; and under 
a very impressive sense of obligations to be faithful 
with the souls of the people. The discourse evident- 
ly made a deep impression ; and though some might 
have taken exception to his pointed remarks on the 
subject of Christian duty, and on what he considered 
disorderly and unscriptural in connexion with reli- 
gious excitements, yet it is to be hoped that many will 
long cherish a profitable remembrance of this his dy- 



JESSE MERCER. 375 

ing testimony. The following is a brief sketch of this 
discourse, as it subsequently appeared in the Chris- 
tian Index. 

" The text was 1 Sam. 12 : 23. As for me, God for- 
bid that I should sin against the Lord, in ceasing to 
pray for you ; but I will leach you the good and the 
right way. 

" The introduction noticed the sin and folly of the 
Israelites in choosing for themselves a king. Of this 
Samuel had now so forcibly reminded them, that they 
confess the l evil ' and entreat his intercession for 
them with the Lord." 

" The doctrine sought to be established was — The 
solicitude of faithful ministers for their people in cases 
of manifest departures from the good and right way. 
They do not only pray for them, but they remonstrate 
and teach, &c. Jer. 20 : 8, 9. Rom. 9 : 1, 2, 3. 
2 Cor. 12 : 15. 

" What do they teach 1 The good and the right 
way. Wherein does it consist ? First, in the way of 
truth and holiness, as it is the object of faith ; see Jer. 
6 : 16. Isa. 35 : 8. 2 Peter 2 : 2. and secondly, the 
way of obedience, in which only God can be worship- 
ped acceptably. The preacher was inclined to believe 
Samuel had this way of obedience in view, because 
he subjoins, ' Only fear the Lord, and serve him in 
truth with all your heart.' 

" In the remainder of the discourse, he wished to 
call the special attention of the congregation to a few 
indispensable particulars of the good and the right 
way, in which God can be truly and acceptably wor- 
shipped. To render a service, which can be good and 
right in the sight of the Lord, it must be done, — 

1. In Faith. Faith is general and particular ; gene- 



376 memoirs or 

ral as it embraces all revealed truth, and leads to the 
due observance of it ; and particular as it acknow- 
ledges the authority of God to command and the im- 
plicit obligation of men to obey. Heb. 11 : 6. Isa. 
42 : 8. Mai. 1 : 6. Rev. 4 : 11. 

2. According to the divine order or requirement, 
1 Chron. 15 : 12. Isai. 29 : 13. Jer. 19 : 5. Matt. 
15 : 69. He here expressed a wish to notice several 
points of modern church organization and practice, in 
which the divine requirement was not duly waited for. 
The whole fabric of a church, its materials, the mode 
of uniting them, independence, &c. were topics of 
pure revelation, on which he could not dwell as he 
felt their importance to demand. He came, however, 
to this point — That whatever in religious worship was 
based on tradition or human invention, must be con- 
demned as ' vain ' worship ; because it either set aside 
the commands of God, or added to them. 

" 3. In love. Deut. 6 : 4, 5. 1 John 5 : 3. 

" 4. Reverently. Ps. 4 : 4, 5. 95 : 6, 7. John 4 : 
23, 24. Phil. 2 : 12. Heb. 12 : 28. Allusion was 
here made to the occasional confusion in revivals as 
inconsistent with reverent worship, and as condemned 
by the apostle in 1 Cor. 14th chap. 

" It may be said, however, by some, our brother 
remarked, that much good appears to be effected in 
the course of these exercises, and how can this be 
admitted if we may not regard them as of God ] One 
or two extremes were specified. Here was a case of 
convulsions. A woman of weak nerves falls on the 
floor under preaching. Is this necessarily of God ? Is 
this to be encouraged as a divine work % Then we 
hear singing, shouting, praying and exhortation, all at 
once, in another quarter of the assembly. Is this also 
of God % Will it bear the test of common reason and 



JESSE MERCER. 377 

sound sense % Whatever is contrary to these is not 
of God* 

" t Let me take you,' lie continued) ' to Horeb. 
Thither Elijah had retired from persecution, and the 
Lord had designed to commission him for some very 
important future services* — ' The Lord passed by.' 
Observe, He passed by. ' And behold, a great and 
strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces 
the rocks before the Lord.' An earthquake and a fire 
succeeded, whose effects are not described, but we 
may suppose them to have been striking. The Lord, 
however, was neither in the wind, the earthquake, nor 
the fire. But in a ' still small voice/ that followed, 
his servant can recognise him. Elijah wraps his face 
in his mantle, in reverence. The Lord is there ! 

" l Now I do not say that in some of the extreme 
agitations and excitements to which I object, the effect 
of some approaches of the Lord upon our weak and 
erring natures, may not be seen* But the Lord, as I 
conceive, is not in them. Especially when indulged 
in as some end of a revival ; something to be gloried 
in and promoted as in itself desirable. Revivals 
driven on to such extremes become, I must say, no 
longer acceptable. They involve that confusion of 
which God is not the author.' 

" He illustrated his views from 1 Cor. 14 chap. This 
was a church that came behind in ' no gift/ They 
were enriched in all utterance and knowledge ; but 
became very confused in their public assemblies, by 
a defective and irreverent management of those gifts. 
The apostle in rectifying this, supplies us with some 
simple but invaluable principles that should regulate 
all our assemblies. The cardinal point is — ' edifica- 
tion' — ' that the church,' the whole assembly, may 
receive edifying. To this end there must be order, 

17* 



378 MEMOIRS OF 

subordination of all spiritual impulse, to a common 
object. There must be rationality. No spiritual gifts 
destroy men's natural faculties, but purify, extend, 
exalt them ; make reason, so to speak, more rational. 
But when * every one had/ and would* sing or speak, 
his own ' psalm, doctrine, or tongue/ heedless of a 
brother's revelations or the common good in ' edifica- 
tion, exhortation, or comfort/ will not strangers l say 
ye are mad V asks the apostle— and a proper applica- 
tion of this doctrine *to modern times is, if when direct 
inspiration was the privilege of the churches, (that 
inspiration which, as in itself miraculous and confirm- 
ed by miracles, was also infallible,) there was a duty 
of subordinating * the spirit of the prophets ' to the 
prophets — -and that in fact, the government of reason f 
and the corresponding gifts of other brethren, were 
to be restraints on the whole, how much less pretence 
can any man now have to ungovernable impulses as 
from God-— how much more carefully and reverently 
should we seek to exercise all our spiritual gifts ! 

" 5. In view of the glory of God as its proper end \ 
and the good of mankind as its subordinate but gra^ 
cious design." 

He visited Penfield the latter part of June for the 
purpose of spending a few weeks with his friends, and 
attending the college commencement, and the annual 
meeting of the board of trustees, both to take place 
the last of July. 

Brother Absalom Janes and family had the melan- 
choly pleasure of ministering to this afflicted disciple 
during most of his stay at Penfield. They speak of 
him as enjoying at the time a calm and peaceful frame 
of mind, attending devoutly upon family worship, 
though scarcely able to kneel and rise without assist- 



JESSE MERCER. 379 

ance ; as appearing remarkably fearful of giving trou- 
ble to the family, and of conversing upon various sub- 
jects with great mental clearness. 

At the meeting of the trustees, the writer of these 
sketches, as well as many other brethren, saw their 
father in the Lord for the last time. But O how 
changed was the venerable man ! Disease and care 
had reduced his fine portly frame to a mere skeleton ; 
his clothes hung loosely upon him ; his face was pal- 
lid and shrunken ; his voice was feeble and faltering, 
and his steps trembled under his fading and emaciated 
frame. None could gaze upon the dying man without 
emotion, and hardly without tears. His countenance 
however, still beamed with its wonted benignity, his 
words were kindness itself, and his spirit seemed to be 
filled with calm serenity, and heavenly sweetness. The 
grace of God was evidently performing in his heart its 
last, blessed work. The infirmities of the outer man 
seemed to encumber the operations of his fine vigorous 
mind less than might have been expected ; when rous- 
ed by some little effort, it would beam forth with a 
clear radiance, like that of the western sun, which 
reminds us that though the orb of day is fast sinking 
to the horizon, it is still the same bright orb which shed 
upon us its meridian brightness. Several important 
subjects came up for the consideration of the Board 
of Trustees ; he would occasionally, sitting in his chair, 
which he occupied as president of the body, briefly 
express his sentiments ; and this was done in a very 
clear, connected, and appropriate manner. 

A letter, written from Penfield to his fellow-laborer 
at Washington, may very properly be introduced in 
this place. 



3S0 -MEMOIRS OF 

" PcnjUU, July 13, 1841. 
44 My Dear Brother Sturgis, 

" Two pretty good things have come to pass to 
day. We have had a good and refreshing rain ; very 
much wanted here and hereabouts. It is said in some 
settlements the corn, especially, is nearly exhausted. 
I hope however, it will turn out better than now 
feared. I have heard it was very dry and hot with 
you, and about the neighboring parts. I hope you 
have had rains, as we have seen good appearances 
that way. The crop is here said to be the best for 
several years past, so far as culture is concerned ; but 
it- must be very much pinched and stinted. But the 
other good thing was, a good discourse from our Dr.* 
here. He preached on the true personality and real 
divinity of the Holy Ghost. I think he did great 
justice to the subject ; and drew several very weighty 
and comfortable considerations from the doctrine. His 
text was John 14 : 16. 

" I am now some more comfortable than I have 
been since I came up to Penfield. I have been pin- 
ing with an almost perpetual flatulent colic, somewhat 
spasmodic ; and have therefore been worse off than 
before I left home. The symptoms have abated and 
I hope I shall get better. I intend to stay here among 
the brethren till commencement, but what course I 
shall then take, I have not yet determined. So far I 
have abode with brother Janes. I think of going in a 
day or two to brother Sanders. 

# # # # * 

" I should like you would write me how all are 
getting on at W. Is the work of grace going on yet 

* Rev. Xho. Curtis. 



JESSE MERCER. 381 

among the blacks ] How does Mrs. S do 1 Is 

she worse or better ] Is any thing encouraging among 
the whites, young or old 1 I have understood that 
* * * has joined the P. Church. Well, if he loved 
father or friends better than Christ, he is as well- 
better than with us. 

" I trust you are so recovered, as to be able to re- 
sume your usual course of public and private service ; 
and I pray most earnestly that your labors may be 
greatly succeeded by divine influence. Religion here 
is low, and I think pretty generally so. Brother Sher- 
wood has returned from his tour, with brother Thorn- 
ton, and says there is very little excitement in any of 
the churches where they travelled. 

" There were two deaths in Greensboro' last week. 

A promising young man, Dr. M. ; and a Mrs. C . 

This lady's husband had been to Washington City 
from Ala., and she came this far to meet him on his 
return home. I can't tell you any further of the par- 
ticulars of the case, but it is a distressing one. The 
people in general are healthy. If it will be within 
your convenience and agree to your feelings, I should 
like you to go to my house, and see how they are get- 
ting on ; especially in a religious respect. I had 
hoped that Charlotte had some concern on her mind 
about her soul's and eternity's interests, before I left 
home. I talked to her of those things, and urged her 
to seek the Lord and faint not. I should like to know 
if she makes any progress. Tell her (and all) that I 
have constant remembrance of them before the throne 
of grace, and hope she does not fail to pray for herself 
and children. Tell brother Henry I shall hope to re- 
ceive a letter from him, unless he should come up to 
commencement. In that case it would hardly be 
worth while. 



382 MEMOIRS OF 

" Give my affectionate regards to sister S. and all 
the brethren and friends in W. as you may find agree- 
able to mention it to. 

" I am, dear brother, yours, &c. 

"Jesse Mercer.'* 

On the 4th of August, Mr. Mercer left Penfield, and 
j ourneyed on to the Indian Springs in Butts county, hop- 
ing to derive some benefit from the mineral virtues of 
the water. For a while his health seemed to undergo 
some little improvement ; but he found no radical and 
lasting benefit. The strength of his disease remained 
unbroken, and it seemed evident that without a speedy 
change of a favorable character he could not linger 
much longer on earth. The following letter to brother 
Sturgis was probably one of the last that he ever 
wrote. 

" Indian Springs, Aug-. 13, 1841. 
"Mr Dear Brother Sturgis, 

" Yours was duly received at Penfield. I was 
truly glad to receive the information it gave. May 
the Lord cany on the good work. I can but hope the 
course taken by Miss S. will be a blessing to others. 
Oh ; her poor mother ! The Lord of wonders have 
mercy on her, and suffer not the soul that he has 
made to perish before him ! Tell the blacks that I 
have constant remembrance of them in prayer. I fear 
for the white people of W. lest the Lord may have 
given them over to their own ways. The church I 
think, has never yet been in travail. O that they 
would be duly stirred up to seek the Lord as they 
should with all their heart, and then they would be 
blessed with a revival indeed ! 

" I left Penfield on the 4th much weakened, and a 



JESSE MERCER. 383 

lax on me, which had followed my being relieved of 
the colic which so affected me after I reached P. 
This wasting disease increased on the way, and is 
still in some degree on me, but I hope I ani on the 
mend; and may derive some benefit from this water. 
It is probable I shall stay here most of the month ; but 
this depends on circumstances. However, I should 
like to receive a letter from you before I leave. I re- 
ceived a letter from brother Pope since yours, in 
which he informed me of the wind at my house. He 
did not say any thing of any other injury than that 
suffered by me — but was that all 1 He then thought 
the work among the blacks as general and as great as 
ever. Well, may the Lord carry it on to great good ; 
to the salvation of many. I hear from several churches 
in these parts of symptoms for good, but no great in-- 
gathering. I see little else about here but indifference 
and sin ! I am well situated with brother Barlow, 
who keeps about a half-mile on the hill above the 
spring. We are very quiet, and have prayer night 
and morning for the most part ; but this public-house 
keeping, is a poor business for the raising of a family, 
or for family religion, or any other ! If you can, write 
me to this place, on the receipt of this, and let me 
know how matters and things now stand ; how it is 
with those poor women, Mrs. S. and Mrs. W., and any 
others in particular cases ; how the work is still with 
the blacks, &c, &c. 

" I hope the Lord sustains your heart and hand, in 
his service, and that your strength will be as your day 
requires, and that he will give you much success ! 

" I hear of considerable sickness in the lower coun- 
ties ; about here I think there is but little. The crops 
are said to be good, but there is some complaint of 
rust in the cotton. 



384 MEMOIRS OF 

" The weather is now rainy, and the people will 
have a bad time probably to save their fodder. How 
is the prospect in Wilkes ] 

" My most ardent love and desire for all the breth- 
ren, give to as many as you think it worth while ; to 
sister S. and the Dr., and my servants, who will take 
an interest in hearing from me. 

" I am, dear brother, yours truly, 

" Jesse Mircer." 

On the last Sabbath in August, he attended the 
meeting of brother James Carter at the Springs, and 
in the evening of the same day accompanied that 
brother to his residence, some eight miles north of the 
Springs, with the intention, should his strength allow, 
of prosecuting his journey as far as Walton, Monroe 
county, for the purpose of visiting his friends and re- 
lations in that place. This design the Lord did not 
however permit him to accomplish — he went to the 
house of brother Carter to die. 

In a September number of the 'Index, the eye of 
the reader fell upon the following melancholy an- 
nouncement. 

" We stop the press to inform the readers of the 
Index, that our dear old Father MERCER is no 
more. We have just received the following note 
from his nephew, brother W. A. Mercer : 

" ' At bro. James Carter's, Butts Co. Sept. 6, 1841. 

" ' Dear bro. Stokes, I have the mournful intelligence 
to communicate to you and the brethren at Penfield, 
that my dear uncle JESSE MERCER is no more — 
He breathed his last this morning at twenty minutes 
after six o'clock, without a struggle or a groan. 1 



JESSE MERCER. oOO 

readied here yesterday, and found him sinking very 
fast. He was perfectly sensible, and so remained un- 
till the last. He spoke but a few words. I sat by 
his bedside through the most of the night. He an- 
swered several questions I asked him — I inquired if 
he was ready to depart. He threw his dying arms 
around my neck, and pulled me down near to him, 
and said — / have no fears. He would have talked 
more, but said he was unable — I have not time to 
multiply.' " 

From the following letter of brother Carter, which 
was also published in the Index, the reader will learn 
most of the particulars of his death. 

u Eight miles North of Springs, 
Butts county, 20th Sept. 3841. 

44 Dear Brother Stokes, 

" Inasmuch as it fell to the lot of myself and 
family to take care of, and nurse our very dear brother 
Mercer, the last week of his life, and he having died 
in my house, perhaps it is necessary that I should say 
something to the brethren and friends generally, 
through the medium of the Index, in regard to this 
matter; and record what may be called his dying 
words, as well as his dying conduct. I visited him 
frequently while at the Springs. I always found him 
calm and ready to enter on religious conversation, 
(when his strength would permit.) He made many 
inquiries about the churches, and the prospect of re- 
ligion generally. — He was much pleased to learn our 
prospects were favorable. My appointment with the 
church at the Springs, was on the last Sabbath in 
August — he attended, though very feeble. The text 
for that day was a part of the 11th verse of the 12th 



386 MEMOIRS OF 

chapter of Exodus, 'Eat with your loins girded, your 
shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand.' At 
the close of the sermon, this venerable old servant of 
Christ arose to his feet, and leaning on his staff, made 
a few remarks in regard to God's people going to 
heaven ; he then called the attention of the congrega- 
tion to this one fact, that the Israelites were to go a 
certain distance into the wilderness to worship ; 
' now/ said he, ' I wish you all to know that they 
that go to heaven, must go worshipping/ He dwelt 
most beautifully on that idea, and closed by prayer. 
This may be considered his last address to mankind, 
and the last prayer put up in the church. Oh, that 
the Lord would hear his prayer for us in this country. 
He came with me home that evening, and concluded 
to remain a day or two. He appeared to be entirely 
satisfied and at home. On Tuesday morning he 
thought he was much better, but before night he be- 
came worse. — He remarked to my wife and myself, 
that he regretted very much to be troublesome, and 
if he stayed another day, it would prevent me from 
going to my appointments the balance of the week : 
we both told him we were willing to have the trouble, 
and to do any thing for him in our power. He said 
he thought of that, but still regretted that I should 
stay on his account. I told him I knew the brethren 
and congregation at Tawaliga church, where I was 
expected, would excuse me — this appeared to satisfy 
him. He then said, ' I am here, and I cannot leave 
you, and I may die on your hands.' He went to his 
room, and did not from that time even express a wish 
to leave, but in no way cast down, but rather cheerful. 
I frequently offered to call in a physician, but he as 
often refused, and said he had had the attention of 
physicians who knew him, and were well acquainted 






JESSE MERCER. 387 



with his complaint, and the medicine had not had the 
desired effect, and he did not think it worth while to 
put himself into new hands. I, however, went and 
consulted one, without his knowledge. When I came 
back and told him, he said he supposed the advice 
was good, buf his complaint had gone beyond that 
remedy, and would only take such as he himself 
would prescribe. By his request, I directed a letter 
to brother W. A. Mercer, of Walton, and brothers 
Butler and Pope of Washington, requesting them, or 
such others as could, to come and see him. On Fri- 
day, I had much satisfactory conversation with him. 
On Saturday, he asked me if I recollected the song in 
the Cluster, that had these words in it, ' I did to him 
my all commit;' I told him I did. He then went 
on to say, * that is continually in my mind. Forty odd 
years ago I committed my all to the Lord, before the 
mercy seat, and there is my dependence now.' I 
asked him if he was willing to go. He said, * yes, if 
it is the will of God/ Whenever the question was 
asked, he always said he was willing. At one time 
he went on to speak at length in regard to the doc- 
trines of grace and the promises of the gospel. I 
said to him, ' I recollect many of your views, when I 
sat under your ministry, and was baptized by you ;* 
he said, 'yes, and these are my views now.' He 
would frequently take me by the hand, as if he was 
telling me farewell, looking wishfully in my face, but 
said nothing. Frequently asked if the brethren had 
come. He bore his affliction like his Lord and Mas- 
ter ; not murmuring, and scarcely a groan was heard, 
only in prayer. He had his proper mind and memory 
to the last, asked me but a little before he died, if the 
brethren from Washington had come ; said to brother 
W. A. Mercer, he had no fears. So he died almost 



3SS MEMOIRS or 

without a struggle or groan, at twenty minutes after 
six o'clock, on the 6th September. 

" The Macedonia church met in conference the 
next Saturday, and unanimously agreed to make a re- 
cord of his death in her church book, in the following 
way, and to send you a copy, if you should see 
proper to publish it in the Index, as follows : 

" The Church in Conference, 11th September, 1S41. 
— Resolved, That inasmuch as it seems to have been 
the will of God, on the 6th day of this inst., to call 
from time to eternity, our venerable and dear brother 
in the ministry, Rev. Jesse Mercer, while in the im- 
mediate neighborhood of this church, and at the house 
of our pastor, we deem it our privilege and duty to 
mention this dispensation of divine Providence among 
us, and to make a record of the same in the follow- 
ing way : 

" 1st. That we desire to be thankful to the Lord 
that his usefulness and zeal were continued so long to 
the denomination and the world ; at the same time we 
mourn with our brethren in general, the loss of so 
eminent a servant of Christ. 

"2d. In the death of brother Mercer, we think the 
Baptists have lost one of their brightest ornaments, 
truth one of its ablest advocates, and the country one 
of its ancient and elevated citizens. 

" 3d. We should now feel more forcibly the weight 
of that command, pray ye the Lord of the harvest to 
send more laborers into the vineyard. 

" 4th. That we request our pastor to preach an ap- 
propriate sermon in reference to the above case, on 
the Sabbath. 

" I endeavored to comply with the request from the 
text, ' I have finished my course, I have kept the faith, 
&c, to an unusually large congregation, (our houses 



JESSE MERGER. oS9 

rather over the common size;) after filling the house 
to overflowing, the people stood at the doors and win- 
dows, with the utmost composure. The Lord came 
down by his Spirit, many were cut to the heart ; and 
there is a gracious work going on, and has been for 
some time ; baptized five that day ; unavoidable cir- 
cumstances required us to adjourn until yesterday ; 
and the day before yesterday baptized five more ; in 
all ten; and many are crying for mercy. Pray for 
them, and for all of us. 

" Yours, &c, 

"James Carter." 

The remains of Mr. Mercer were carried to Pen- 
field, and interred in the public burying ground ; at 
which spot, or some other one more suitable, near the 
University, that may hereafter be selected, with the 
consent of his relatives, and his devoted church at 
Washington, and in accordance with the general wish 
4 of the denomination, they will find a permanent rest- 
ing place.* 

Never has the death of any individual called forth 

: such an expression of deep and universal grief in the 

Baptist churches of Georgia ; and long will it be, in 

] all human probability, before such sorrow will be felt 

again. A great and a good man had fallen, and there 

_, was lamentation in Israel. 

The Trustees of the University, in connexion with 
the Faculty and students, and the citizens of Penfield, 
signalized the mournful event by appropriate resolu- 
; tions, and also by solemn religious services. 

The following resolutions contain an expression of 

* A plain, substantial monument is to be erected to bis memory, 
. under ibe direction of the Trustees of the University. 



390 MEMOIRS OP 

the sentiments and feelings of the bereaved church 
at Washington, on the melancholy occasion. 

" Baptist Church, Washington, Ga., Sept. 1841. 

" Resolved, That this church feels sensibly the loss 
we have sustained in the removal by death, of our 
venerable and beloved pastor, Jesse Mercer. That 
in him, they, together with the denomination and the 
christian community, have lost an able Expositor of 
the Inspired Oracles, a faithful preacher of the word 
of life, a wise and prudent Counsellor in things per- 
taining to the interests of Christ's kingdom, and a 
munificent Benefactor, such as it has rarely been their 
privilege to enjoy. 

" That in looking back upon the long series of 
years during which we, in common with the christian 
community, have enjoyed the services of this distin- 
guished man of God, we feel a mingled emotion of 
gratitude, that those services were continued so long, 
and sorrow, that they are now closed for ever. And 
now that the hand that so long broke unto us the 
bread of life, is palsied in death, and the heart that 
even the frosts af age could not forbid to feel deeply 
for our spiritual interests, shall yearn over us no more 
in this world, we would hold in grateful remem- 
brance all his services, and how ' He ceased not to 
admonish and entreat men night and day with tears/ 
— humbly praying that the seed sown by the hands of 
this servant of the Most High, may spring up and 
produce a yet more abundant harvest. 

" Resolved, That we sincerely sympathize with his 
surviving family in the loss which they have sus- 
tained in the removal of their venerable relative. 

" Resolved, that the expression of condolence with 



JESSE MERCER. 391 

us on this occasion of deep affliction, by the citizens 
of Penfield, is most gratefully received, and that we 
accord to them the same expressions. 

" Resolved, That this Church acknowledges the 
truly christian spirit manifested by the Presbyterian 
church of this place, in the communication transmitted 
by their committee, and that we receive that expres- 
sion of sympathy, as seasonable and highly acceptable 
in our painful bereavement. 

" Resolved, That in reference to a final resting- 
place for the remains of our departed pastor, we be- 
lieve that it was his intention to be placed beside his 
wife; a spot of ground in our church- yard having 
been granted him, (at his request,) for that purpose, 
and it is the desire of the church that this request be 
complied with. 

" Resolved, That in the event of his final interment 
at any other place, this Church, as a farther expres- 
sion of her regard for the memory of her deceased 
Pastor, cause to be procured a suitable tablet of mar- 
ble, with an appropriate inscription, to be inserted in 
some proper situation upon the walls of this house. 

" Resolved, That the Church do hereby request the 
officiating Minister to preach a Sermon in memory of 
our deceased Pastor, on the morning of the first Sab- 
bath in October. 

" Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions, to- 
gether with the communication from the Presbyterian 
Church, be transmitted for publication in the Chris- 
tian Index, and News and Gazette. 

" Done in Conference, this 25th day of Sept. 1841. 
" Richard W. Joyner, 

" Church Clerks 



302 MEMOIRS OF 

The following, is the Communication from the 
Presbyterian Church referred to in the preceding 
resolutions ; and on account of the Christian spirit 
which it breathes, it is entitled to a place in these 
pages. 

" Sunday, 19 th September, 1841. 
"Dear Brethren and esteemed friends, 

"As a Committee of the Presbyterian Church, we 
transmit to you a copy of the proceedings of a meet- 
ing held this morning, at the close of divine service, 
which you will receive as a testimonial of our sense 
of departed worth, and a token of our sincere partici- 
pation with you in your recent bereavement. 

" We are your sympathizing friends and brethren, 

Geo. H. W. Petrie, 

A. S. WiNGPIELD, 

Lock Weems, 
" Rev. C. F. Sturgis, and Deacons 
of the Baptist Church." 

"At a meeting of the members of the Presbyterian 
Church, convened this morning after service, with a 
view of giving a suitable expression of their feelings 
as a Church upon the bereavement which has afflicted 
their community, in the decease of the Rev. Jesse 
Mercer, Pastor of the Baptist Church, Dr. John H. 
Pope was called to the Chair, and A. S. Wingfield 
appointed Secretary. 

" Rev. Mr. Petrie opened the meeting with a few re- 
marks, and then offered the following Preamble and 
Resolutions, which were unanimously adopted : 

" In view of the affliction with which Divine Pro- 
vidence has visited us in the loss of our venerable 
friend, the Rev. Jesse Mercer, we, the members of 
the Presbyterian Church, do adopt the following Re- 



JESSE MERCER. 

solutions, as an expression of our feelings on this 
mournful occasion : 

" Resolved, That we sincerely and deeply deplore 
the heavy calamity which has befallen our community 
in the decease of this venerable minister of Christ. 

" Resolved, That we tender our cordial sympathy 
to our brethren of the Baptist Church, in this their 
bereavement, in the decease of their beloved Pastor, 
and that we mourn their loss as our loss. 

" Resolved, That as a testimony of the respect and 
esteem we entertain for the character of our departed 
friend, also for our brethren of the Baptist Church, 
our house of worship shall be closed on the morning 
of the first Sabbath in October, when, as we are in- 
formed, an appropriate funeral discourse will be de- 
livered in the Baptist Church. 

" Resolved, That a Committee be appointed to 
transmit a copy of these proceedings to the officiating 
Minister and Deacons of the Baptist Church, and 
through them to the members generally. 

" John H. Pope, Chairman. 

" A. S. Wingfield, Secretary" 

Similar expressions of Christian sorrow were made 
by the Georgia Association, the Baptist State Con- 
vention, and by many other bodies of our brethren 
in the State. 

On the time appointed brother C. F. Sturgis, who 
as has been noticed, had the honor and happiness of 
being: associated for a time with father Mercer, in the 
pastoral charge of the church, preached an appropri- 
ate funeral discourse, from 2 Sam. 3 : 38. "Know ye 
not that there is * * * a great man fallen this day 
in Israel." 

After some suitable introductory remarks, the 
18 



394 MEMOIRS CF 

preacher announced the main point to which he in- 
vited the attention of the congregation ; viz. " That 
Jesse Mercer was truly a great man : I mean" adds 
Mr. Sturgis, by way of explanation, " great as God's 
servant." This position was clearly illustrated by the 
speaker by considering somewhat at length the follow- 
ing particulars. 

11 1. The manner in which he rose to the command- 
ing position which he occupied. 

11 II. The manner in which he retained that posi- 
tion, and continued to ascend to the very last. 

"III. The strength of his intellectual powers. 

"IV. His retention of these powers to the last. 

" y The plans and schemes which engaged his 
mind. 

" VI. The manner in which he prosecuted these 
plans. 

" VII. The influence which he exerted upon the 
world by his life, character and actions." 

The above named topics were in the main judi- 
ciously selected, and well sustained : . space cannot 
however, be allowed for a complete outline of the dis- 
course. The brief sketch here given will nevertheless 
serve to give some direction to the mind of the reader ; 
and by such facts as are supplied by these pages, in 
connexion perhaps with his own recollections of Mr. 
Mercer, he will be able to illustrate each particular 
point for himself, and move on by a sure and convinc- 
ing process to the conclusion, that when this servant 
of Christ yielded to the summons of death, a great 
man indeed fell in our Israel. 



.EESSE MERCER. 395 



CHAPTER XVI. 



Mr. Mercer's personal appearance.— -Various traits of character de- 
scribed. — Mr. Mercer fin bis social relations.— Character of bis 
mind and attainments. — His character as a preacher — His gifi 
•in prayer. — His piety. — His faults. — His great influence. 

The personal appearance of Mr. Mercer was pecu- 
liarly interesting, well calculated to arrest the atten- 
tion of the beholder, and. fix a lasting impression on 
his mind. None who had once seen him would be 
very likely to forget him. Most of his surviving ac- 
quaintances have probably a more distinct recollection 
of his appearance than of any other individual; such a 
recollection -as would -enable them, if familiar with 
the pencil, to exhibit on canvass a tolerably correct 
^delineation of his whole person. In height he rose 
somewhat above the ordinary standard ; in his younger 
days, as has already been noticed, he was spare, but 
in his advanced years, when his health was good, he 
was moderately corpulent. Time had gradually re- 
moved the greater portion of his hair, leaving at last 
but a few, thin straight locks on the sides -and back 
part of his head, which still retained, however, their 
original dark brown color. His extreme baldness 
revealed to all the exact size and conformation of 
the citadel of his noble mind. This conformation 
was very remarkable. The horizontal length of his 
head from his eyebrows back, was very great, whilst 
bis forehead seemed to rise upward with a gently re- 
ceding slope even to the very crown, exhibiting a 
most striking development of what phrenologists term 
the organs of benevolence, veneration and firmness. 
His eye, which was of a hazel color, and rather small 



396 ittraiorris or 

and deeply sunk, was clear and sparkling, and Learned 
with a sweet, mingled expression of affection and in- 
telligence. He had a meek, kind and reverential 
look ; and if he was not indeed a benevolent, devout 
and good man, then the human features never speak 
a distinct and intelligible language. Most of the time- 
Ins countenance was considerably turned downward, 
as though he was habitually impressed with a sense of 
the divine presence ; and a gentle bowing motion of 
the head, which was very often repeated, might sug- 
gest to the beholder that he was making, as it were, 
referential obeisance to his Maker. His movements- 
were generally calm, uniform, and deliberate, and 
marked with much of that sweet and quiet gentleness, 
which we may suppose peculiarly distinguished that 
divine person of whom it was said, "he shall not* 
strive nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in 
the streets ; a bruised reed shall he not break, and 
smoking flax shall' he* not quench." 

To strangers, he often appeared cold, uninteresting- 
and dry, but an intimate acquaintance could not fail to 
excite interest,, and to render it apparent that he pos- 
sessed those refined, and amiable qualities which ren- 
dered him capable of tender, firm and lasting friend- 
ship. He was constitutionally reserved and taciturn,, 
unable readily to suggest topics for remark, and to 
give a direction to conversation ; on which account 
he often complained that he was illy qualified to per- 
form properly the duties of a pastor ; yet scarcely any 
subject could be introduced by others in regard to 
which he could not speak a word in season ; and when 
interested and roused he would entertain a conrpany 
with pertinent and instructive discourse, interspersed 
oftentimes with happy illustrations, and sparkling 
anecdotes. His first wife used sometime isav. " if 



jESSE iviehcer. 397 

you wish to get Mr. Mercer to talking, when he conres 
to see you, you must lay up some subjects for him be- 
forehand :" — " I was in the habit of doing so," remark- 
ed one of his intimate friends, " and would some- 
times in this way dray/ from him by my fireside the 
substance of two or three good sermons," 

He was a man of great transparency of character. 
What he appeared to be, he really was. He was a 
true Nathaniel, an Israelite indeed, guileless, simple, 
unaffected. He ever proposed to himself worthy 
and noble ends, and by honest, open, straightforward 
means, labored for their accomplishment, disdaining 
all tortuous management and secret wire-pulling. 

He was sparing of his praises in >the presence of 
those he would commend, and the spirit of peevish 
fault-finding, and bitter detraction, dwelt not in his 
bosom. With all his greatness and reputation, he was 
lowly and humble ; he sustained his honors with 
meekness; knew how to bear the infirmities of the 
weak, to condescend to men of low estate, to render 
welcome to his presence and to his dwelling, the most 
obscure individual. His modesty was conspicuous ; he 
sometimes appeared embarrassed from diffidence, es- 
pecially amongst strangers ; and it was not uncom- 
mon for him to be distrustful of his own judgment, 
;and seek the counsel of those who would ever have 
osteemed it an honor to sit as learners at his feet. 

Though possessed of an eminently meek and gen- 
tle spirit, he was, nevertheless, a man of uncommon 
firmness, and of great moral courage. In matters of 
principle and conscience, he was immoveable as a 
rock ; upon what he deemed important and vital 
points, he was not afraid to proclaim his opinions, 
even if the whole world was to be arrayed against 
Mm* Yet in matters of indifference, no one was move 



398 MEMOIRS OF 

• 

ready and cheerful in yielding to the wishes of others, 
too generous and noble to stickle in trifling matters, 
and to contend for contention sake. " He had not 
that kind of liberality" (to use the language of ano- 
ther) "which- though it might please men, disre- 
gards the injunctions of heaven, a liberality which 
narrows, lessens or attenuates the commands of the 
bible ; yet he was kind and courteous, and hospitable 
to all denominations/ ' 

From the calm and quiet manner in which Mr. 
Mercer prosecuted his duties, many might suppose 
that he was deficient in force and energy of character. 
In certain modes of action, as has already been inti- 
mated, he was, in this respect, no doubt r excelled by 
many. But a survey of the general tenor of his life, 
of his steady devotion to the great work to which he 
considered himself called of God, his almost unex- 
ampled punctuality in pressing on to his numerous 
appointments through heat and through cold, through 
wet and through weariness, and the unwavering uni- 
formity with which he pursued all his purposes and 
duties, even under circumstances of discouragement 
and trial, will present to us a character by no means 
deficient in force and energy. Yet his energy was 
not that of the torrent which bears away with rapid 
and boisterous strength, dwellings, and woods, and 
fields ; but the gentle, yet effectual energy of the 
summer shower, which crumbles the dry and unyield- 
ing soil ; the noiseless and invisible force of heat, 
which gradually vanquishes the stubborn rock, and 
the impenetrable steel. 

Mr. Mercer was a man of a remarkably tender 
spirit. His sympathetic nature enabled him most 
readily to enter into the griefs of his brethren and 
friends \ and with what a gentle,, engaging and pater- 



JESSE MERCER. 399 

nal manner he would make their burdens his own, 
very many can bear testimony. He often preached 
with tears. A tender and affectionate exhibition of 
divine truth by others, seldom failed to engage his 
feelings, and to elicit some quiet and unobtrusive ex- 
pression of emotion. Was there, on any occasion, a 
divine and melting influence poured forth upon a 
congregation ; if Father Mercer was one of that con- 
course, he might be seen with his head bowed gently 
and reverently forward, weeping with the meek, un- 
affected simplicity of a little child. The incident no- 
ticed in the following extract from a letter of Presi- 
dent Manly, may serve as a pleasant illustration of this 
trait of his character. " I saw Father Mercer but 
seldom. Once I saw him, (at Eatonton, in the spring 
of 1824,) in an aspect which I must relate, as it illus- 
trates the simple piety and tenderness of his heart. 
It was on a Sunday of the meeting of the Georgia 
Convention. Brother S. and I were to preach. Bro- 
ther Mercer sat in the pulpit with us. S. got up, and 
in his quaint way surveyed the assembly (a very large 
one) with several glances, and opened just in this 
way. ' Where shall we obtain bread to feed so great 
a multitude 1 as for my part, I am unprovided and 
penniless ; but there is a lad here/ turning round 
and putting his hand on my head as I leaned forward 
in the pulpit, l who has five barley loaves and two lit- 
tle fishes, which, with the presence and blessing of 
Jesus, shall constitute a feast/ This well nigh upset 
me. But it drove me to prayer. The Lord loosed 
my own mind, and unlocked the fountains of tears, so 
that it was computed that through a great part of the 
discourse, there was an average of at least five hun- 
dred persons continually bathed in tears. There was 
nothing in all this Bochim, that to me was so affecting 



400 MEMOIRS OF 

as when 1 turned round and saw the sympathetic 
streams coursing swiftly down the furrowed cheeks of 
Father Mercer." 

The following incident is furnished by President 
Sherwood. " When the Convention was organized 
at Powelton, in June, 1822, one of the ministers read 
a sermon, I think from ' Prepare ye the way of the 
Lord/ in which he portrayed the evils of sectional 
feelings, and need of a more extended acquaintance, 
such as the organization of the Convention was de- 
signed to promote. Mr. Mercer closed the exercises 
by an approving exhortation and weeping prayer, and 
in allusion to the plain truths touching the divisions 
and petty jealousies which had contributed to block 
up 'the way of the Lord/ he made hearty confession 
of sin in this respect for himself and brethren, and 
observed with stifled emotion, ' hast thou found us 
out, O our enemy ! hast thou seen the evils that exist 
among us !' The whole assembly were melted into 
tears, and his prayer seemed to do more good than 
the sermon." 

Another incident may be appropriately related in 
this connexion. " A case of discipline with the Rev. 
Tliomas Rhodes, was the source of great grief and 
affliction. He had swerved from the path of recti- 
tude, and several of his brethren w T ere endeavoring 
to bring him to see his error ; and though he would 
frequently make acknowledgments, his subsequent 
conduct impaired confidence, and opened afresh the 
wound that had been partially healed. Mr. Rhodes 
was an interesting and popular preacher. He had 
travelled much with Mr. Mercer, and their affection 
was strong for each other, like that of David and Jon- 
athan ; this made the trial severer. At meetings for 
healing the breaches which Mr. Rhodes had made, 



JESSE MERCER. 401 

Mr. Mercer 1ms been seen to burst out into a flood of 
tears, and weep like a child over his wandering 
brother."* In the various domestic and social rela- 
tions, he stood forth as a model of uncommon beauty 
and excellence. Why need we speak of his obliging 
kindness as a neighbor, his sincerity and firmness as a 
friend, his fidelity and affection as a brother, his in- 
tegrity and truly christian patriotism, us a citizen ? 

Who better understood the duties of a husband ! 
These duties he discharged with a prompt fidelity, 
engaging tenderness, and unwearied constancy, wor- 
thy of all praise. It was truly delightful to notice 
with what a kind voice and affectionate look he would 
respond to the assiduous attentions of his devoted 
companion, and with what patience, sympathy and 
carefulness, he would minister to her in all her -af- 
flictions. 

As a master, his example deserves to be recorded 
in deep lines upon a tablet of gold, and suspended in 
every habitation. He treated his servants (of which 
he had but a few) with the most judicious considera- 
tion and the greatest humanity. He held them in the 
light, not of inanimate goods and chattels; but of hu- 
man, rational, immortal beings. Their spiritual wants 
<ever lay upon his heart. When speaking of their 
condition as needy, ruined sinners, he would often 
shed tears ; often would he, with great concern, en- 
treat the prayers of his brethren in their behalf; and 
when any of them manifested anxiety in relation to 
the salvation of their souls, it gave him the most sin- 
cere pleasure. Every morning and evening was their 
attendance required at family worship ; and what 

* Sherwood's sketch of the life of Mr. Mercer, in the Baptist 

Memorial. 

IS* 



402 ruEMorns or 

may seem rather singular to many, ho had the autho 
rity and address to secure without noise or severity, a 
uniform compliance with this regulation. The writer 
well remembers with what concern he once heard 
him speak of the death of one of his domestics ; and 
with what christian propriety and tenderness he 
quoted, in connexion, the passage from Proverbs, 
u He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a 
child, sliall have him to become his son at the length" 
With reference to the same event, he thus writes 
to an intimate christian friend: " The Lord has made 
a breach on us ! It falls with considerable weight on 
us, as it not only deprives us of a great benefit, but 
of the most dear inmate of our house. Our little 
house girl, Mary, is now a corpse in our house; sud- 
denly and violently taken away by congestive fever. 
She was so intimately connected with trs and our hap- 
piness, that we feel it almost as the loss of a daughter, 
But the thought of our loss is nothing to the fear of 
fche loss of her soul ! Mary was a fine girl, brisk, 
willing and sensible-, (so that her place will be hard 
to fill.) but she was a sinner, a poor, little lying, thiev- 
ish sinner, and she is gone (so far as we can tell) in 
impenitence ! For two days her speech failed her y 
so that we could understand nothing from her. But 
it is the Lord's doing and we must submit. " In ac- 
cordance with Mr. Mercer's request, brother "Wm. H. 
Stokes preached a funeral sermon to the colored peo- 
ple, at the grave ; and in some remarks which he 
himself made, he said with much feeling, " I am 
afraid, my servants, that you will go to hell /" On 
the Lord's day following, he preached a discourse 
which might be regarded as a kind of funeral sermon, 
with sorrow and tears often referring to the death of 
his servant. 



JESSE MERCER. 403 

Such a master would be likely to enjoy the confi- 
dence and affection of his servants. " They loved 
him and venerated him," (says a friend that for many 
years, was almost daily at his house,) " not only as a 
master, but as a father. * * As an instance of that 
kind feeling which was cherished by all his servants, 
I will just mention the conduct of old Manuel, a few 
days after his death. This old servant, it is well 
known, accompanied his msster after his last mar- 
riage, everywhere he went. The first time I met 
him after the death of his master, it seemed as if by 
the power of association, the scenes and incidents of 
Vpast days came afresh to his mind, and in the lan- 
guage of the deepest sorrow and affection, he ex- 
claimed, ' what shall I do now t old master (and here 
he faltered) is no more t 9 " 

" Of Father Mercer's manner in his own house," 
(remarks the same brother,) " it may be said of a 
truth, that he exhibited all the attributes of true great- 
ness in perfect simplicity. There was nothing forbid- 
ding about him, no assumed dignity. Uniformly kind, 
always pleasant, sometimes particularly so, especially 
if the conversation turned upon religious subjects, or 
upon the success of the gospel at home or abroad. It 
is true that sometimes from long application to busi- 
ness, he would seem a little dull, but let some ques- 
tions relating to the doctrines or duties of Christianity 
be introduced, and all was animation, all was cheer- 
fulness and life." 

" Order appears to have been the watchword with 
this good man. Not only was there order in his 
thoughts, but in all his conduct." Order and system 
reigned in his household. Although much of this 
was to be attributed to the excellent management of 
his wife, yet it was plain that every thing around bore 



401 MEMOIRS OF 

more or less of the impress of the patriarchal head. 
He did not, as seems to be the case with many, re- 
verse the laws of nature and convert day into night, 
and night into day; he rose early, and gave the day 
to its appropriate employment ; and retired at a rea- 
sonable hour, and gave the night to repose. It would 
always require a very urgent necessity to induce him, 
either at home or abroad, to depart from this rule. 
He gathered his family together at an early hour for 
worship, requiring all secular business to tarry till 
God was thus honored ; and seldom delaying the time 
for the accommodation of lingering guests. Should 
they happen to be late, some kind, reproving hint 
would be very likely to remind them that he expected 
his visiters to conform to the rules of the family. 

After his settlement at Washington, his house was 
the frequent resort of his numerous christian acquaint- 
ances; and many pious strangers, attracted by the sa- 
vory influence of his good name, would search out 
his dwelling to gain at least a hasty interview with 
this revered Father in Israel. These friends and 
strangers will long remember the unaffected kindness 
and hospitality with which they were welcomed to his 
fireside, feeling that his home was a much honored 
spot, and thankful that they were there permitted to 
listen to his voice and receive his blessing. 

In the management of his pecuniary affairs, he dis- 
played much ability and judgment. From a very 
slender beginning, and a moderate income in subse- 
quent years, he was enabled, by economy and pru- 
dence, to accumulate, previous to the time of his 
second marriage, a comfortable estate. At that time, 
as has been already noticed, he received a large in- 
crease to his possessions ; yet even then they did not 
transcend his financial ability. He no longer,- how- 



JESSE MERCER. 405 

fever, aimed at accumulation, generally appropriating 
his entire income, beyond his necessary expenses, to 
the cause of benevolence. Though now in affluence, 
he was still economical, carefully avoiding all need- 
less waste. He also avoided with no less care, the 
contracting of perplexing debts ; aiming at great punc- 
tuality and exactness in meeting his engagements, thus 
leaving it in the power of none to say, as he urged 
upon others the duty of promptness, fidelity, and hon- 
esty in relation to pecuniary pledges, (which he often 
did,) " physician, heal thyself.'' 

It is hardly necessary to repeat what has so often 
passed in review before the reader of the preceding 
pages, that he possessed a mind of high order. Clear- 
ness, strength, and originality, were its peculiar fea- 
tures. His powers of analysis were remarkable, giv- 
ing him an easy and rapid mastery over intricate and 
perplexing subjects ; whilst in comparison and illus- 
tration he was hardly less distinguished. The com- 
mon place occurrences of life, and familiar scenes in 
nature around,* cast into his observing and tenacious 
mind a thousand similies, which with an aptness and 
simplicity peculiar to himself, he would scatter through 
his discourses like burning gems and glittering arrows, 
to give brightness, and point, and power, to the great 
truths of the gospel of Christ. Even a coarse and 
somewhat forbidding figure would sometimes be 
brought up ; yet would he wield it in a manner so 
dexterous and engaging, that it would seem to lose 
its repulsive aspect, chime in as apparently the fittest 
illustration that could be used, and leave no other im- 
pression upon the mind but that of complacency and 
delight. 

* For a few specimens of Mr. Mercer's figurative illustrations, 
see appendix, A. 



406 MEMOIRS OF 

There was something in the intellectual efforts of 
Mr. Mercer, particularly in the pulpit, that seemed 
almost invariably to arrest the attention of men of im- 
proved and elevated minds,* and this may be regarded 
as a striking evidence of his own real greatness. A 
great mind is more naturally impressed with intel- 
lectual superiority than minds of an inferior order, 
and is the only adequate judge of its real dimensions. 
A j^erson of very ordinary intellect might judge ano- 
ther to be a great man, because upon some points he 
is superior to himself; whilst another of vastly higher 
mental stature than the first, might seem in his view 
to have scarcely any higher claims to greatness. He 

* **I always tee]," said an individual of strong discerning mind, 
" that when I hear the communications of Brother Mercer, I am 
listening to a wise man." — A young lady in company once spoke 
disparagingly of a sermon which she had just heard from Mr. Mer- 
cer; having confined her atten ion, it is presumed, rather to the 
manner of the speaker than to the substance of the discourse: a 
gentleman present, one of the most distinguished lawyers and states- 
men in the country, who happened to hear the same sermon, ob- 
served, that he had seldom listened to a more logical and sensible 
discourse. — The following circumstance was related to the writer 
by a venerable and intelligent brother in South Carolina some twenty 
years ago. During one of Mr. Mercer's journeys through S. C. 
when he was quite young in the ministry, he happened to fall in 
company with several eminent clen ymc-n at Camden, who it seems 
had visited the place at a time when some public occasion had 
brought together a large number of distinguished citizens. Dr. 
Flynn, a celebrated clergyman of the Presbyterian denomination, 
Dr. Sraughton, then a young man, and perhaps the elder Gano, with 
one or two others of equal distinction, were some of the ministers 
who in their turn were called on to address the congregations that 
assembled from day to day. Mr. Mercer also preached ; and his 
clear, masterly exhibition of divine truth, satisfied all present that he 
was no ordinary man. Though the others were more admired for 
the elegance of their language and the gracefulness of their manner, 
yet the general impression left on the minds of the people seemed to 
be, that Jesse Mercer was the great man. 



JESSE MERCER. 407 

seems like a person standing at the foot of two con- 
tiguous trees of very unequal height, who, by looking 
directly upwards, cannot judge correctly either of 
their real or comparative elevation. But a person 
who, by the exalted character of his mind, is compelled 
to look downward in forming: an estimate of the great 
muss of mankind, is at once struck with those who 
rise above the common level, and contemplating them, 
as it were, in a natural, direct, and horizontal line, can 
easily judge of their comparative altitude. Very few 
men, in taking the measure of Mr. Mercer's intellect- 
ual power, have ever felt that they were compelled to 
look downward. Indeed, it is evident that he pos- 
sessed a mind of that order which would have given 
him a bright and solid reputation, in almost any im- 
portant pursuit upon which he might have concen- 
trated its energies. As a financier he would have had 
few equals ; as a jurist* he would have been discrim- 

* Upon the death of Gov. Rabun, Mr. Mercer was prevailed on 
to take charge of an estate, upon which the former had partially 
administered. A question of law and justice arose, in which he dif- 
fered from the previously expressed opinion of Gov. Rabun, and 
nearly every legal adviser that had been consulted* At length it 
was agreed that the question should be argued in court. Judge 
Dooly presided, Mr. Mercer employed no counsel, but managed' 
the case himsc'f. In his opening remarks he observed that he pro- 
fessed not to know much of the law, but he thought he understood 
something of the principles of common justice. As he progressed' 
in his argument, he was listened to with respectful attention by the 
court and bar. The case being argued sufficiently on both sides, it 
xvas left in the hands of the judge, who found it one of so much dif- 
ficulty, that he was some twelve months in making up his opinion. 
This was at last adverse to the opinion of Mr. Mercer. Mr. M., 
in accordance with the decree of court, tinned over certain property 
without the bond and security, which he had all along contended 
wa3 just and proper, and as he expected, it was soon squandered. 
It seemed that he had common sense and justice on his side, but the 
capricious law, and hoary precedents, were decided to be against 
him. 



mating ami | titesman, he would bav^ 

taken an honorable station among: Shermans, the 

Macons, and the of the land. 

Mr. Mercer was not an extensive reader; nor v 
he learned, in the ordinary acceptation of that phrase. 
To an acquaintance with polite literature he made 

ii5. Hi . though partial academic 

course, introduced him to some acquaintance with 
Latin and Greek, an acquaintance however which he 
never advanced to any c ble extent in future 

life. " His library," says an intimate friend, H • 
not extensive but select. His books were not so much 

in the pursuit of kn 
ledge ; he used them principally for the purpo<s< 

rence. The Bible with him xnd last. 

He generally kept lying by him on his desk a plain 
copy mment; this he read, Bnd this 

he sht . . 

••' is sty led Biblical C ." (continues the 

• he kn : eoteparativeTy little ; yet he could, 
with the help of Parkhurst. make mment upon 

certain passages in the Gne itli sur- 

prising accuracy. His principal canon, however, 
to com: b scripture. He always read 

slowly, and hat he read. 

His great intellectual strength, I cone 
to t >n. By this the relations of 

things and events wc : at, and no matt 

latex 

: to open 
* * * 

i; In the sermons,. Father Mercer 

made but little use of paper. *Very rarely did he pre- 
par 
ingly brief. He or print. 



JESSE MERCER. 409 

topics of his discourses, and the quotations which he 
intended to introduce. The fact is, he could not write 
as he could speak. To the latter he was trained in 
his own peculiar way, to the former he had no train- 
ing at all. The most of his sermons were noted in 
his mind, by his favorite mode of reflection. Some 
of the very best I ever heard him preach, were made 
up in his carriage as he rode along, without pen, ink, 
or paper, or even a Bible.' ' 

In his preparations for the pulpit, he was in the 
habit of studying subjects, more frequently than texts. 
He would fix upon some theme which he deemed 
important to present to his people, and then arrange 
in his mind such arguments as he could gather from 
the scriptures and other sources. This being done, 
he did not find it difficult to fix upon a text which 
would serve as an appropriate motto, and to which 
he could easily give sufficient prominence in the body 
of his discourse. The practice of studying subjects, 
rather than texts, he recommended to other ministers. 

It was one of the most interesting features in the 
intellectual operations of Mr. Mercer, that he took 
plain, strong, common-sense views of almost every 
subject that engaged his attention. He had not a very 
lively imagination, but what he did possess seemed to 
be under the complete control of his well-balanced 
judgment. The fanciful, the visionary, the extrava- 
gant had no charms for him. His aim was simple, 
unadulterated truth ; and this he sought in a direct and 
natural way. He had the rare faculty of looking at 
things as they are, and of presenting them in their 
native reality, in their own simple and undistortcd 
proportions to the view of others. If he presented at 
any time views that were new and original, (and who 
so often exhibited such things,) it was still evident 



410 MEMOIRS . OF 

that his common sense had gone down with him into 
the mines of thought. He brought up solid and pre- 
cious things which others had not seen before, yet they 
were still the gems of truth ; if they were new, they 
were still natural ; if they were original, they were 
still realities. The process would often seem so easy 
that the child would wonder it had not done the same 
thing before ; the gems so bright and truthful, that it 
would seem strange they had remained hid so long. 

Long will Jesse Mercer be held in honorable es ti- 
cs 

mation, as one that was a truly able, pious, instructive 
and powerful minister of "the glorious gospel "of the 
blessed God." Indeed it was in this character that he 
was contemplated with most interest when living ; and 
it is in this character that he will stand forth most pro- 
minent in those recollections which are permanently to 
survive him. The impression which his preaching made 
upon the mind of a distinguished minister of the gos- 
pel, (Rev. W. B. Johnson of S. C.) whose discriminating 
powers, and extensive range of observation amongst 
men, especially ministers of the Gospel, entitle his 
opinions to great weight, was no doubt the impression 
left upon the minds of many others. " Having been 
with Br. Mercer," he remarks in a letter to the bio- 
grapher, " at public meetings mostly, I had not an op- 
portunity of forming a full estimate of him only as a 
preacher. In that character he was to me the most 
interesting man that I ever heard without exception. " 
The views of President Manly, (a brother similarly 
qualified to judge of solid merit,) who was permitted 
occasionally to listen to his pulpit exhibitions, are of 
the same import, though he has expressed them a little 
more fully. 

" There was so much," says he in a letter to the 
writer, " that was good and great about him, and his 



JESSE MERCER. 411 

powers seemed to be so well balanced, that he was 
remarkable perhaps more for the contemperament 
of a multitude of excellencies, than for a few promi- 
nent or shining traits. 

"To feel his greatness,'' (continues Mr. M.) " it was 
necessary to have heard him preach under happy cir- 
cumstances. At other times he was characterized by 
a solid judiciousness in all he did or said, sanctified 
by a simple, fervent piety. But in his happy moments 
of preaching, he would rouse and enchain the atten- 
tion of reflecting minds beyond any minister I have 
ever heard. At such times, his views were vast, pro- 
found, original, striking, absorbing, in the highest de- 
gree ; while his language, though simple, was so terse 
and pithy, so pruned, consolidated and suited to be- 
come the vehicle of the dense mass of his thoughts, 
that it required no ordinary effort of a well trained 
mind to take in all that he said. I well remember a 
circumstance illustrative of what I say. At a meeting 
of the S. C. Baptist State Convention held at Edge- 
field C. H., (probably in 1823,) father Mercer preach- 
ed preparatory to communion on Sunday, and Dr. 
Furman was one of his hearers. His text was, * For 
if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an 
heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the puri- 
fying of the flesh ; how much more shall the blood of 
Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit offered himself 
without spot to God, purge your consciences from 
dead works to serve the living God.' It was one of 
his happy times ; and after a few of his honest shrugs, 
and workings of his neck and shoulders, as if to push 
his huge frame into his armor, he got fairly under 
way. Dr. Furman sat next me in the congregation. 
Although much absorbed myself, I could but notice 
that the Doctor, (whose unconscious and inordinate use 
of snuff, when excited and engaged was remarkable,) 



412 MEMOIRS OF 

•passed his hand to his pocket with singular celerity 
and frequency. At length, as the subject advanced 
and the interest deepened, the snuff box returned no 
more to the pocket, but remained open on his knee ; 
while the thumb and finger plied incessantly and full- 
freighted between it and his nose. Father Mercer 
was now reasoning out, by overpowering argument, 
the position, that the divinity of Jesus Christ is neces- 
sary to his atonement ; and when he announced the 
conclusion, proved and clear, the venerable saint, 
Dr. F. brought his hand down violently on his knee, 
exclaiming audibly, 'what an important thought V " 

There was but little in Mr. Mercer's manner in 
the pulpit, which would come up to the exact and re- 
fined rules of oratory. His voice was not particu- 
larly strong nor distinguished for its compass and 
melody. When overstrained, as was sometimes the 
case, it had a shattered sound, and now and then, 
when the speaker became somewhat affected, it would 
glide off into a peculiar tone. His gesticulation was 
rather clumsy, and the fastidious might find fault with 
the occasional shiugging of his shoulders, and the 
side-way motion of the head which was so peculiar to 
himself; but after all, his appearance in the desk was 
far from being uninteresting. The fair and comely 
baldness of his head, his venerable mien, his portly 
frame, his countenance clothed with meekness, be- 
nevolence, intelligence and devotion, rendered him 
an object of peculiar interest and respect, wherever 
he stood forth 

" To negotiate between God and man, 
As God's ambassador, the grand concerns 
Of judgment and of mercy." 

To those who had been long accustomed to the 
ministry of Mr. Mercer, those peculiarities of his 
manner which criticism might condemn., assumed a 



JESSE MERCER. 413^ 

comely aspect ; they seemed to be so essentially a 
part of the man, so necessary as it were, to his perso- 
nal identity, that their correction would rather have 
been painful, and left upon the mind what would have 
been regarded as a defective and mutilated image of 
their venerated friend. 

" His discourses," (to use the correct and able de- 
lineation of another,*) " though not constructed upon 
the scientific rules of composition, were of a higli 
order. His representations of divine truth possessed 
great moral power. Whilst he seemed untrammelled 
by the laws of criticism, he violated not the principles 
of true taste. His sermons were, for the most part, 
doctrinal, yet always tending to practical results. 
His language had a noble bearing which made it a 
suitable vehicle of his noble thoughts. The accurate 
principles of sound logic ran through his perform- 
ances, though its forms were not at all times visible. 
Ungodly men of cultivated minds listened to his ser- 
mons as to an intellectual treat. Religious men en- 
joyed them as affording a spiritual feast, as well as an 
intellectual treat. To the graces of oratory, Mr. Mer- 
cer made no pretensions, but there was an unction 
from the Holy One, that breathed from his spirit, and 
beamed from his sweet and heavenly eye, that en- 
chained and animated the hearer, and thus more than 
supplied the absence of oratorical grace.' ' 

Mr. Mercer never preached without method, yet 
he seldom announced beforehand the arrangement of 
his sermons. As he advanced, his plan was gradually 
and clearly unfolded, well based upon the text, and 
happily connected and proportioned in its various 
parts. As the natural consequence of his general 

* Brother W. B. Johnson, in the Southern B.iptV Advocate 



414 MEMOIRS OF 

method of preparing for the pulpit, (that is, of study- 
ing subjects rather than texts,) he would most fre- 
quently lay down some general doctrine or princi- 
ple as naturally deducible from his text, and then 
proceed to illustrate it by strong and well defined ar- 
guments ; occasionally, however, he would fall into 
the expository mode and follow out the leading ideas 
and clauses of the passage before him, in a kind of 
extended comment. His discourses were generally 
of a moderate length, varying from forty minutes to 
an hour. Seldom did he preach his hearers into a 
listless frame. Most generally would he leave them, 
(particularly on special subjects and important occa- 
sions,) regretting that he had not continued longer, 
and more especially, as it was so evident from what 
he had said, that the fountain of argument and illus- 
tration in his richly furnished mind was still deep and 
unexhausted. When excited and moving on through 
his subject with his fall force, he seemed like a huge 
rock forcing its way through the compressed sides of 
a mountain chasm ; he would not only clear away all 
the difficulties in his main track, but by the friction of 
his great mind, strike out thoughts upon incidental and 
collateral subjects, of much power and brightness, and 
which would supply the minds of the auditors with rich 
themes for after reflection. His power of amplifica- 
tion was not great ; his words did not often flow down 
upon the people in a rushing torrent, but rather fell 
like a shower of massive golden apples. He never 
encumbered his topics wjth useless verbiage and vain 
repetitions : his language was plain, simple, appropri- 
ate and uncommonly compressed, each word seeming 
to occupy a suitable and important place, like a well- 
squared brick in a piece of solid masonry. 

That jDeculiar feature of his mind which has al- 



JESSE MERCER. 415 

ready been so often alluded to, was very conspicuous 
in his pulpit efforts. He was, without controversy, 
one of the most original preachers of the age. His 
manner and his thoughts were in a peculiar sense his 
own ; as has been well observed by another, " he 
tried to imitate no one, nor could any one imitate him 
with success." He had a suitable respect for the 
opinions of judicious expositors of the word of Grod ; 
yet in the spirit of christian honesty and indepen- 
dence he dared to differ, if need be, from any or from 
all, thinking deeply for himself, and making every ar- 
gument that he employed, pass through the alembic of 
his own mind. Few preachers in our country, of any 
denomination, have, through the uniform course of 
their ministry, brought into their discourses an equal 
amount of valuable and entertaining thought that 
might be regarded as the peculiar fruit of their own 
mental efforts. 

To form a full estimate of Mr. Mercer's ability and 
worth as a preacher, it was necessary to have heard 
him often, and under various and dissimilar circum- 
stances. There are some ministers who, on particu- 
lar occasions and on special subjects, with ample time 
for preparation, will rise to an unusual elevation ; 
when the average tenor of their discourses exhibits 
but little more than monotonous tameness and stinted 
mediocrity. Like a little stream, when swollen by a 
sudden shower, they will sometimes dash and roar; 
and like that stream, their ordinary flow is confined 
to a very shallow and narrow channel. Not so Mr. 
Mercer. His course was deep and wide. His preach- 
ing embraced a large scope of religious instruction, 
and exhibited a richness and variety quite above the 
common average. Long study and deep reflection 
had made him familiar \\ ith the great system of di- 



416 MEMOIRS OF 

vine truth, and fixed in his mind innumerable scrip- 
ture phrases and illustrations ; whilst his regular and 
well-ordered habits of thought gave him, especially 
when roused, great command of his valuable re- 
sources. The word of Christ dwelt in him, indeed 
richly in all wisdom ; and as a workman that needeth 
not to be ashamed, he was eminently qualified to di- 
vide out that word, its doctrines and its duties, its 
promises and its threatenings, its prophetic visions 
and its historical details, giving to every one his por- 
tion in due season. Many persons who had heard 
much of this eminent preacher, might, upon hearing 
him the first, the second and even the third time, ex- 
perience a feeling of disappointment ; but it would 
be like the disappointment of the traveller, who, for 
the first time, approaches the Mississippi, and hap- 
pens to strike the stream 1 at a point where the jutting 
banks and the impending forests hide half its current 
from the sight. "Is this the Father of Waters?" he 
might almost unconsciously exclaim ; but a few hours 
journey along the banks would remove the sense of 
disappointment, and leave him satisfied that common 
fame had not exaggerated this natural wonder. So a 
sufficient acquaintance with Mr. Mercer would gene- 
rally change disappointment into admiration, and jus- 
tify the long established estimate which the public at 
large had placed upon his preaching. 

Though he was judicious and entertaining upon al- 
most every scriptural theme and felt it his duty to 
declare the whole counsel of God, yet there were some 
subjects upon which he dwelt with more frequency 
than others, and which afforded delightful scope for 
his peculiar powers. He delighted in contemplating 
the gospel as a scheme which honored God and abased 
the creature. Upon the majesty of the law, the ex- 



JESSE MERCER, 417 

ceeding sinfulness of sin, the amazing obligations of 
the sinner, and his total inability to rescue himself 
from his ruined and guilty state ; the infinite virtue 
of the atonement, the uncontrolled sovereignty and 
glorious efficiency of divine grace, he was truly great. 
The cross of Christ was the fixed luminous centre 
of all his preaching. Planting his feet on Calvary as 
their immoveable resting place, he pointed his hearers 
back to the ancient and infrustrable designs of mercy, 
never afraid of the words, eternal, and before the foun- 
dation of the icoi'ld ; then traced out in a manner most 
clear and instructive the gradual developments of 
that mercy in the shadows of the Mosaic dispensation ; 
then gazing at the hallowed ground on which he stood, 
with a flowing eye, and a full heart, and his noble 
powers roused to their full strength, would he por- 
tray with unequalled power, the fulfilment of type and 
prophecy and eternal counsel in the infinitely merito- 
rious sufferings of the Son of God ; thence would he 
advance to unfold the application of those sufferings 
in the subjugation of the sinner's heart by the word 
and the Spirit, his complete justification before God 
by the imputed righteousness of Christ, and the grand, 
certain and eternal results connected with faith in the 
Lord Jesus Christ. This was the general scope, the 
unvarying substance of his preaching. He did not of 
course unfold the whole system in any single discourse ; 
but enough of it in every sermon, either in a doctrinal 
or practical form, to show to what school of theology 
he belonged. If he went off in his discussions to illus- 
trate the various dependent and collateral themes of 
the gospel, (and this he often did,) the line of his argu- 
ment was firmly bound to the great cardinal truths 
embraced in this system ; he took not a single step in 
any direction in which he did not distinctly feel ihe 

19 



41S MEMOIRS OF 

drawing of the strong centre, and in which all other 
attentive minds could not feel the drawing-. He was 
indeed eminently a gospel preacher. " How is Mr. 
Mercer P 9 said Dr. Staughton, to a gentleman from 
Georgia. "Well," was the answer. "He exerts great 
influence in that state," continued Dr. S. " His word 
is law," replied the other. " I am sure," said the 
Doctor, " it is gospel" And this, it may be safely said, 
would be the testimony of every intelligent, sound, 
and evangelical hearer. 

Mr. Mercer's discourses generally made a distinct as 
well as lasting impression on the mind. They had form, 
weiehi, and tangibility. They were not like those 
smooth, pretty, in^alpable, and evanescent things 
sometimes called sermons, which glide away without 
leaving any valuable impression upon the heart, or 
sentiment in the mind; but so to speak, they were 
well furnished with hooks and handles by which the 
people could take hold of them, and convert them to 
some lasting advantage. The noble fragments of ma- 
ny a sermon preached twenty, thirty, and forty years 
ago, are still floating in the memories of the people. 
There are some of our aged brethren whose minds 
recur with deep interest to a meeting of the Georgia 
Association, held long ago at Shiloh, when on Monday 
evening he delighted, melted, and enchained a con- 
gregation of three thousand or more, in delineating 
from a passage in the 12th chapter of Revelation, the 
trials and triumphs of the christian church. Amongst 
other things, the amazing power which the speaker 
gave to a short quotation from the Song of Solomon, 
in illustrating the oneness of the true church, is remem- 
bered with indelible distinctness — there are threescore 
queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without 
number : My dove, my uxdefiled is eut ONE. The 



3 



JESSE MERCER. 4J9 

Impression made by a discourse at Bethesda, on the 
ten commandments, which was listened to by a crowd- 
ed assembly, is not yet forgotten : many intelligent 
professional men were present, and expressed at°the 
close their astonishment at the profound knowledge 
which the speaker exhibited of the fundamental prin- 
ciples of law. His discourse at Washington, many 
years ago, on the Covenant, was a memorable effort : 
several of opposing sentiments, knowing what was to 
be the subject of discussion, carried with them their 
ink and paper to take notes of the sermon :— in the 
conclusion it was admitted that if he hud not proved 
his doctrine, he had come nearer doing it, than had 
ever been done before. His sermon°on' Ezekiel's 
valley of dry bones, is still visible in the minds of some 
of his aged hearers ; and also another from that sub- 
lime text, Seek Him that maketh the seven Stars and 
Orion.— Will the writer be pardoned for introducing 
in this connexion, in as brief a manner as possible) 
some of his own recollections of one of Mr. Mercer's 
sublime and noble efforts. He remembers hearing 
him preach at the meeting of the Savannah River As- 
sociation at Barnwell Court House, South Carolina, in 
1824. The text was a part of the 25th verse of the 
1st chapter 1st Corinthians : " The weakness of God 
is stronger than men:' It was a passage admirably 
suited to the peculiar genius of the preacher ; his mind 
happened at the time to be remarkably free and un- 
beclouded, whilst the feelings of his heart were in a 
very tender, devout, and propitious frame. He first 
illustrated what he supposed might be understood by 
the weakness of God : this he considered as referring 
mainly to the despised Gospel of a crucified Redeem- 
er. He next considered in what the strength of men 
might be said to consist; for, said he, " the text seems 



420 MEMOIRS OF 

to imply that men have some kind of strength with 
which the weakness of God is brought into conflict." 
He here enlarged, in a manner most powerful and 
convincing, upon the pride, ignorance, and deep-seated 
corruption of the human heart. He then proceeded 
to show how, by weak and insignificant means, the 
Lord thwarted the vain and proud designs of man, 
and how, especially by the application of gospel truth 
by the Spirit of God, the stubborn and rebellious heart 
was effectually and savingly subdued. It was a mas- 
terly effort of the human mind. His track was as clear 
as the noon. His simple and energetic language, his 
apt illustrations, and his invincible reasoning, render- 
ed every thing visible. The audience could but have 
felt that they were in the hands of a master spirit, or 
rather in the hands of a glorious and almighty Sove- 
reign, whose power was portrayed with such pungent 
and heart -searching strokes ; and whilst their mind's 
were led captive by the matchless argument, their 
feelings were evidently much affected by the holy fer- 
vor, the tender, sweet, and heavenly pathos of the 
venerable preacher. 

Many such recollections* might be gatheredup, and 
presented in illustration of the impressive character 
of Mr. Mercer's preaching. It is true, we have re- 
ferred to some of his extraordinary discourses ; but it 
may very naturally be inferred that an individual, who 
could in so many instances make himself remembered 
for twenty-five or fifty years, would bo likely, in his 
ordinary ministrations, to present much which would 
leave deep traces upon the minds of his hearers ; and 
this was eminently true of Mr. Mercer. 

He depended more upon the plain and full exhibi- 

* Sec Appendix, D 



JESSE MERCER. 421 

lion of the various truths of the gospel to affect and 
subdue the sinner's heart, than upon direct and hor- 
tatory appeals ; yet these appeals were not unfrequent; 
and sometimes they were urged with a pungency and 
power that rendered them irresistible. He ever aim- 
ed at blasting the vain and self-righteous hopes of the 
carnal heart, revealing its deep and abominable cor- 
ruptions, that in its self-despair, and self-loathing, it 
might be prepared to welcome the consolations of the 
gospel. Those consolations he knew how to unfold 
to the weary and heavy laden, and with much of the 
tender, yearning, and weeping love of his divine Mas- 
ter, would he conduct them gently on to the fountain 
of life. 

In illustration of the occasional power and terrible- 
ness of his appeals to the sinner, an incident might be 
related. He once preached from the text, if any man 
love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him he anathema , 
maranatha. It happened that one of the most distin- 
guished and gifted men in the country was present on 
the occasion, and was much impressed with the so- 
lemn discourse. " I could feel," said he, afterwards, 
" the very curse of God running through my hones." 

On experimental themes he was truly eminent. He 
had studied profoundly the workings of his own heart ; 
noticed with great accuracy end attention the various 
religious exercises of the saints as recorded in the sa- 
cred scriptures, as well as many others whose instruct- 
ive biography he had perused, or with whom he had 
formed a personal acquaintance ; and he was thus 
prepared to accommodate himself with great readi- 
ness and success, to the spiritual necessities of believ- 
ers in all the various stages of their christian experi- 
ence. In his favored times, when dwelling on exper- 
imental subjects, there was a ripeness, a sweetness, a 



422 MEMOIRS OP 

soul-engaging unction in his communications, whicfo 
the writer remembers not to have witnessed in any 
other preacher. At such times, his words, mellowed 
by his own devout and tender affections, and freighted 
with the most appropriate and precious thoughts, 
would glide like heavenly oil into the hearts of his 
pious hearers, as it were, to the lowest depths, awa- 
kening in the bosom sentiments of holy tenderness 
and sweet delight. To the aged, way-worn, and af- 
flicted pilgrim, these occasions were truly transfigura- 
tion hours ; seasons when they were enabled, under 
the guidance of this skilful Master in Israel, to range 
"the land of Beulah," and climb "the delectable 
mountains." 

Will the writer be pardoned for introducing here 
a rather amusing incident somewhat illustrative of 
what has just been said? It is presented in the lan- 
guage of Mr. Sherwood, who had it from Mr. Mer- 
cer's own lips. " An excellent Methodist brother who 
attended his 1 preaching and was very fond of him, 
used frequently to express his approbation by a 
hearty amen, when any sentiment or exj^ression 
pleased him, and these were very frequent. Mr. M. 
in private, kindly observed that he did not disapprove 
such expressions, if they were appropriate and well- 
timed; 'but you sometimes manifest your assent 
when the denunciations of God are made against the 
wicked/ &c &c. This cooled his ardor for a season* 
and he was silent though restless. At last, whea 
some rich doctrine of truth dropped from the preach- 
er's lips, he exelaimed at the top of his voice, ' amen ! 
rough at a venture? You may well conceive of the 
effect, both on the audience and speaker." 

The record exhibited in the preceding pages of Mr. 
Mercer's religious sentiments^ will justify the appli- 



JESSE MERCER. 423 

cation to him of the term strict Calvinist ; though 
perhaps the expression high Calvinist would convey 
a more correct idea of his doctrinal views in early 
days. Upon taking charge of the Index, in 1833, he 
thus defines himself: 

" Its editor has nothing of which he can boast, as 
though he did not receive it. But as of the ability 
which God giveth, he is willing to minister the mani- 
fold grace of God, to the building up of the godly in 
Christ Jesus on their most holy faith ; and to the con- 
vincing of the ungodly of their danger in sin ; and 
leading them to the acknowledging of the truth as 
it is in Christ Jesus our Lord, and to faith, which is in 
him, that they may be saved. He is rather of the old 
than of the neiv school ; and inclines to the old fash- 
ioned doctrine of free grace, as preached among the 
Baptists near half a century ago. Though he does not 
mean to quibble or criticise on mere modes of ex- 
pression or shades of difference, where the truth is not 
comp? 'omitted. He does not fully receive all Mr. 
Fuller's views of the methods of divine mercy, yet is 
satisfied with his scheme (as now generally preached, 
when kept within its own bounds,) as leading to, and 
finally securing the same great and glorious results, 
as those of the most approved and (to use a common 
epithet,) calvinistic writers of his age." 

In the early and middle part of Mr. Mercer's min- 
istry, he devoted a large portion of his discourses to 
the doctrinal peculiarities of his faith, and not unfre- 
quently glided off with considerable zeal, into matters 
of controversy ; but in his declining years, his sermons 
assumed a more practical character, and were seldom 
directly controversial. 



424 MEMOIRS OF 

In prayer Mr. Mercer had a very pleasant and edi- 
fying gift. In this exercise he was not as fluent and 
copious as many ; yet he was always appropriate, 
never tedious, adapted himself happily to circum- 
stances and occasions ; as in every thing else, was re- 
markably simple, generally fervent, and at times, sur- 
passingly tender and affecting. His approaches to 
the throne of grace were always marked with great 
reverence and humility j he carried with him to this 
solemn duty exceedingly high thoughts of God, and 
low thoughts of himself; and seemed to lie, as it 
were, a little, sinful, dependent atom at the feet of the 
divine Majesty. His prayers were full of contrite 
confession and thankful praise ; full of the merits and 
intercession of the God-man, Christ Jesus, and ac- 
knowledgments of entire and absolute dependence 
upon the aid of the Holy Spirit. He did not offer up, 
as many do, preaching prayers, but praying prayers. 
He prayed to God, and not to men. He did not seem 
to have any hackneyed form, either in the pulpit, the 
social prayer-meeting, or at the family altar ; readily 
varying his expressions as feeling and occasion 
prompted ; and he had fewer common-place and 
hereditary phrases in prayer, than almost any other 
man. His scriptural allusions were generally happy, 
sometimes remarkably so ; and if there was less of 
the exact phraseology of the bible in his prayers than 
in those of some other ministers, yet the spirit and 
substance of scripture petitions were eminently there. 

To the reader of the preceding pages it might 
seem superfluous to say that his piety was above the 
common standard. He was evidently a man of faith, 
and a man of prayer ; deeply imbued with the prin- 
ciples of the gospel, habitually governed by religious 
principle. There seemed to be much uniformity in 



JESSE MEllCEtl. 425 

his religious feelings, (resulting in part, no doubt, 
from his equable, constitutional temperament ;) he sel- 
dom rose to rapturous heights, and seldom, it is ap- 
prehended, fell into the hands of Giant Despair. He- 
had humble thoughts of his best performances, ex- 
alted conceptions of the majesty of God ; and ardent 
love for holiness and truth, a profound sense of 
the evil nature of sin, and of his own sin, as that 
which had greatly offended his Maker, and loaded 
with anguish the soul of the precious and adorable 
Lamb of God. 

If the writer were, in a single sentence, to present 
the most distinct and prominent idea which he has of 
Mr. Mercer's piety, he would soy, there he is, a little 
•child at the feet of the Saviour, tender, affectionate, 
humble, penitent, obedient and adoring; glorying in 
Christ as his wisdom, righteousness, sanctif cation and 
redemption, and looking with & simple faith, and, a 
calm, serene hope for the mercy of our Lord Jesus 
Christ unto eternal life. 

The history of his heart, any farther than it has 
been developed by his long life of christian upright- 
ness, pious labor, and disinterested zeal for the glory 
of God and the salvation of souls, must ever remain 
in a great measure, a secret to the world. He kept 
no diary in which he recorded from day to day the 
struggles between the flesh and the spirit which 
passed in his bosom, and the peculiar discipline by 
which he chastened his spirit into subjection to the 
will of God ; nor did lie dwell very freely in conver- 
sation or in his more public remarks, upon his own 
religious exercises. The knowledge we have of the 
lowly estimate which he formed of himself, would 
lead us to suppose that he saw but little in his own 
religious experience which, in his estimation, would 

19* 



xJ26 MEMOIRS OF 

be very important to others, or upon which, if re- 
corded in a daily journal, he could look himself, in 
after days, with much satisfaction or profit. The 
chasm which is thus left in his religious history, will, 
no doubt, be a matter of regret to many ; but still we 
should be thankful that &o much of this good man 
still survives in a distinct and tangible shape for our 
instruction, reproof and comfort ; and remember thai 
after all, our heavenly Father well knows, even to an 
iota, how many fragments of the life and experience 
of his departed servants he will have use for in car- 
rying Forward his gracious designs of mercy and sal- 
vation. 

It has already been said that Mr. Mercer had his 7 
faults. To deny this would be to claim for him some- 
thing more than human. Yet it is believed that he 
was a careful observer of his own character, and that 
he judged of himself with greater strictness and se- 
verity, than most other persons would feel at liberty 
to do. " I think it has been told of him,' f (said Mr. 
Sturgis in his funeral discourse,) " that having heard 
something in himself spoken of by way of reprehen- 
sion, he replied, ' If they knew as much of me as I 
know of myself, they would think worse than they 
do.' " He had naturally a rather high temper, as lit- 
tle as many persons would suspect it, a sudden flash 
of which would occasionally be seen through the grates 
of the strong prison in which he kept it guarded. His 
natural fondness and ability for the accumulation of 
property, would have betrayed him into covetousness, 
but for the influence of strong counteracting princi- 
ples ; and if the high estimation which he placed upon 
the good opinion of others could not be regarded as 
leaning to faultiness, it sometimes perhaps made him 
needlessly sensitive when censured by his brethren, 



JESSE MERCER. ,427 

or assailed by his enemies. He used sometimes to 
remark, " it is said that peevishness is one of the sins 
of old age ; I feel that it is so with me, for I perceive 
that I am getting peevish as I am getting old." But 
as an illustration of that kind of complacency with 
which he looked upon the indulgence of this disposi- 
tion, it might be stated that when at a certain time he 
spoke to a young ministering brother in rather a short 
and peevish manner, his generous soul had no rest un- 
til he went to the house of that brother, and made a 
meek and child-like acknowledgment of his error. 
" My own opinion," remarked Mr. Sturgis, in connex- 
ion with his observation quoted above, " however is, 
that what gave importance to any supposed or real 
indiscretion in him was, that it was he." And this 
will probably be regarded by most as a very just re- 
mark. Whatever may have been the faults of Mr. 
Mercer, they were in general such as in ordinary men 
would not have excited much observation. Like a 
few small spots upon a snow-white robe, or an occa- 
sional knotty shrub and unseemly brier in the midst 
of an extensive and charming landscape, his errors 
gained their visibility and distinctness mainly from the 
great beauty and brightness with which they were 
surrounded. 

It has also been said that he hc|l his enemies. In 
some instances, their ungenerous attempts to disturb 
his peace and blast his fair name, was the source of 
the deepest distress that he was ever called to suffer 
on earth ; yet on all such occasions, the dark clouds 
soon passed away, leaving the individual around whom 
for a time they had gathered, unscathed, upon the 
bright elevation which he had previously occupied, at 
the same time reflecting from their dark and angry 
folds as they receded, the useful and important moral, 



42S MEMOIRS OF 

that a meek, christian spirit, secures the most honorable 
victory over evil, and that little is to be gained in the 
end by those ivho needlessly assail exalted worth. One 
thing is worthy of remark, that when malignity found 
occasion to assail him, it was generally through the 
medium of palpable falsehood, or by a disingenuous 
and prejudiced effort to give great importance to mi- 
nor faults. What higher compliment could wicked- 
ness pay to virtue, unless it be that which was paid 
by Pilate to the spotless Son of God, " I find no fault 
in this man." 

The mental elevation, the distinguished piety, the 
ministerial excellence, which were combined in the 
character of Mr. Mercer, will in a great measure ac- 
count for the extensive and wonderful influence which 
he exerted over the minds of men. Yet in connexion 
with these peculiar qualities, which so eminently pre- 
pared him to sway the opinions of others, there were 
other favoring circumstances, which must be taken in- 
to consideration. He lived long, and thus the autho- 
rity of age and experience brought its appropriate, 
additional force. It must be remembered also that 
his ministerial relations were of a permanent charac- 
ter : from early youth he lived and labored upon the 
same field of action. Consequently the chain of his 
influence was not broken by frequent removals to new 
theatres of labor, where a new influence was to be 
created, and a new character in some sense to be 
formed. Though he sometimes changed the place of 
his immediate residence, yet he still retained his con- 
nexion with the same general organizations for pious 
and benevolent efforts, remained intimately associated 
for a long series of years with the same band of faith- 
ful fellow-laborers, and mingled, in at least his occa- 
sional ministrations, with the same mass of population, 



Jesse mercer. 429 

except as death and emigration effected their gradual 
changes. Thus he gained a prominent and well- 
established character amongst the churches and the 
people. He had time to make his mark. He had an 
opportunity for being fully known and appreciated. 
Multitudes grew up from youth to manhood, and even 
to comparative old age, under his ministry, and thus 
received his impress. The solid reputation which 
he had gradually secured for himself at home, was 
known far and wide, and opened a ready way before 
him, so that when he made his frequent and extensive 
excursions through the country, the people were every- 
where prepared to receive him as one clothed with 
"the authority of a prophet." As he left them, hav- 
ing delivered his message from the Lord, they general- 
ly felt that "it was a true report that they had heard 
of him;" and there lingered behind a precious and 
lasting savor. 

His connexion with the press for so many years, and 
the extensive circulation of many of his publications, 
especially the Cluster, which associated the name of 
Mercer with the sweet devotions of thousands, still 
tended to widen the influence of his opinions, and add 
to the authority of his name. Beside, he was, by the 
happy and well proportioned combination of his 
powers, and especially by the grace and providence 
of God, kept from most of those little follies, and wild 
eccentric flights, which oftentimes greatly impair, if 
not wholly destroy the influence of many otherwise 
shining and eminent men. How striking is the in- 
spired sentiment of the wise man, "dead flics cause 
the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking 
savor ; so doth a little folly him that is in rcputationfor 
wisdom and honor." There were very few dead flies 
in the composition of Mr. Mercer. 



430 MEMOIRS OF JESSE MERCER. 

Finally, it must be borne in mind that Mr. Mercer's 
life was spent in the midst of one of the most densely 
populated regions of Georgia. From that region, a 
steady tide of emigration has for many years past been 
rolling out to numerous and far distant places ; and 
wherever it has rolled, upon the opinions, the piety 
and the habits of thought which it has borne along, is 
to be seen more or less of the bright impress of the 
venerable Mercer. Thus by his exalted merit, his 
faithful services, his long life, his well-balanced charac- 
ter in connexion with propitious, providential allot- 
ments, was he enabled to gain an influence over the 
public mind, unequalled in the history of Southern 
Baptists, if not of the entire denomination in our 
country — an influence pure and bright and salutary, 
ranging in deep lines from the Savannah River, to the 
distant confines of Texas, nay, not altogether unfelt in 
many other remote regions of the land, and in distant 
heathen lands — an influence that, through the favoring 
grace of God, it may be confidently hoped will long 
survive to benefit mankind. Whilst the names of 
Bunyan, and Fuller, and Ryland, and Pearce of En- 
gland : and of Baldwin, and Semple, and Furman of 
our own favored country shall be known and loved, so 
long will the name of JESSE MERCER be held in 
affectionate and sacred remembrance. 



APPENDIX 



Memoranda of occasional remarks made by Mr, Mercer in 
his sermons, private conversation, 8fc. 

" Whenever I see a professed Christian taking pleasure in sin, I 
cannot help fearing he may be a deceived soul ; because the Scrip- 
tures expressly teach us that if any man be in Christ Jesus he is a 
new creature. Now if I were to see a hog taken very sick, and it 
should come very near dying, but all at once should be changed into 
a sheep, I could never expect to see that sheep take pleasure in 
wallowing in a mud hole, but would rather expect to find it in green 
pastures, or by the still waters." 

"People sometimes say we make too much ado about the schisms 
which occur among the disciples of Christ, and the word is, ' let 
them alone, and they will all arrive at the same point at last/ But 
I cannot help thinking if it be true that we have all started right, and 
may all come out right, we are travelling more like a herd of cattle 
through a lane than any thing else. This is not like a company of 
horses in Pharaoh's chariot. This is not being all of one mind and 
one accord. This is not the peace and order of the gospel." 

Referring to an article in the constitution of a certain association 
in which non-fellowship was declared against the benevolent institu- 
tions of the day, Mr. Mercer remarked, that, by the adoption of that 
article the anti-missionaries had not in the least affected us. It was 
evidently their intention, by that article, to establish themselves 
more firmly, and if possible to unsettle, or move the missionary breth- 
ren. M But," continued he, " the attempt has resulted precisely as 
would the effort of a man to move a ship from her moorings by 
pushing against her from a small boat; the small boat, we all know, 
would move and not the ship. So they in this huve shifted their 
ground, while wo remain where we were." 

11 There is a great difference," said he, " between an obedient 
and a disobedient christian. The one is like a sheep that remains 
near the fold, and sustained by proper food, and enjoying the shep- 
herd's care, is kept in a fat and healthy condition; whilst the other 
is liko a sheep that wanders far from the fold, through barren and 



432 APPENDIX. 

unwholesome pastures, and amongst briers and thorns : at length, 
poor thin«: ! it comes up weakly, and lank, and almost dead, its wool 
all torn olf, and its skin dreadfully mangled." 

In conversation about a preacher who had a little learning and 
was pretty full of conceits, he once made this remark. " He re- 
minds me of a foolish dog I once heard of, that was in pursuit of a 
deei*i but coming to a place where a fox had crossed the track, he 
loft the deer and ran after the fox ; he had not followed the fox far, 
before he arrived at a spot where a rabbit had crossed ; forthwith 
he leaves the fox and takes after the rabbit; and when the hunter 
came up, he had left the rabbit and was barking at a mouse-hole. 

13r. sometimes sets out after something valuable, but his folly 

drives him to the mouse-hole before he stops." 

Speaking of persons interpreting the Scriptures, according to pre- 
viously adopted creeds, he snid, •* they are like ship- builders, who 
first construct the frames of their vessels, and then employ the wedge, 
ih • screw, the lever, and every implement belonging to their craft to 
bring the other timbeis to fit the frame so constructed. They will not 
hesitate to torture the text, make havoc of every principle of common 
sense, do violence to every canon of sober interpretation ; — all this 
and more : their dogmas must be sustained, though truth be prostra- 
ted to the earth." 

Of that spurious sort of liberality sometimes so highly extolled by 
professors of religion, he once remarked, " It is like a company of 
men setting out upon a journey. •' Come/ says one, (and perhaps 
he has less money than any one of the company,) ' let us all have 
one purse, let our expenses be paid out of the common stock.' It 
would be illiberal to do otherwise. In this way they that have but 
little fare as well as they that have much. So in regard to religious 
opinions. Let the denominations waive their differences, all com- 
mune together, and whatever inconsistencies are found to exist 
amongst them, are chargeable to the whole ; and they that have the 
least of truth on their side, are the most clamorous for liberality." 

He was once preaching from Heb. G: 1. His main object was to 
impress on Christians the importance of aiming at high attain- 
ments and going on to perfection. " Unless we aim at a high mark/' 
said Mr. Mercer, " we shall never attain to eminence, as wo shall 
not be likely to rise higher than our aim. Some Christians are 
afraid to aim high. Alas ! they have not as much courage as a 
chicken. As I was sitting in my piazza one pleasant evening last 
summer, my attention was drawn towards the fowls as they were 
going to their rest. One little chicken particularly attracted my no- 
tice. He fixed his eye upon a limb pretty high up a certain tree, and 
made an ineffectual effort to gain it. He then took another position 
and repeated his effort to reach the limb, but again was unsuccessful. 
Still, in no wise discouraged, he kept his eye upon the limb first cho- 
sen, and tried, and tried, and tried again ; but to no purpose. Six 
times he tried and failed, but the seventh time he reached the limb.- 



s\ 



APPENDIX, 433 

My brethren, aim high — pi ess on to perfection — try to have as much 
courage and perseverance as that little chicken." 

"Christ to many is as a root out of dry ground. In passing 
through a dry and sandy region, you have noticed now and then a 
root connected with a stinted scrubby tree, naked and exposed. For 
the want of moisture and the necessary richness of soil, it exhibits 
a very meagre growth — it. is crooked and knotty, a very unseemly 
object to the eye : such a deformed, unseemly, and worthless thing 
is Christ to the carnal mind." 

" Shall I tell you how the fisherman secures the monster of the 
deep? He rows his little boat along side the huge fish, poises his 
barbed iron, takes sure aim, and hurls it at his prey. The little 
instrument has found its way to a sure place, and remains immove- 
able. The fisherman now gives rope. Off darts the wounded levi- 
athan, and in his rage and pain lashes furiously ^he great deep. But 
the barbed iron is there, and every successive struggle leaves him 
weaker and weaker, until at last he yields himself up a vanquished 
captive, and is now easily managed as a helpless, harmless thin?. 
Thus God by his Spirit, fixes his truth in the heart of the proud, 
stubborn sinner ; he resists, and flounders, and hastens off — but the 
truth is there — a deep and sure wound is inflicted ; by degrees the 
strength of his rebellion is overcome, he becomes weary of sinning 
and wandering, and at last yields himself up a willing and joyful 
captive to the cords of divine love and grace." 

" Take another figure. See how the farmer tames that wild ox. 
He throws a strong rope upon his head and binds hirn to a tree. 
The animal resists and rages. But his strength and fury are unavail- 
ing ; his violent and long repeated struggles to escape at last exhaust 
him ; his savage nature yields ; and finally he becomes entirely sub- 
dued and tamed, and a little child may lead hint. So the Lord 
binds his grace and his truth upon the wild unsubdued sinner : 
his proud resistance is gradually overcome, and at last we see him a 
meek and gentle lamb. Thus the gospel which men pronounce weak 
and foolish accomplishes its blessed work, and it is seen that the 
weakness of God is stronger than ?nen." 

" When a man professes himself converted to God, and the first 
step he takes is in error, what is to be thought? Is he converted ? 
Converted he may be to religion, but it is a question whether he is 
converted to God. I think the Lord is doing a good work here, but 
it appears to me very much like a barn-floor, when the wheat is in 
the short straw and chaff, much more bulky than valuable." 

When he would dissuade his brethren from projects, which re- 
quired pecuniary means beyond what they had in hand, lie would 
often say, ^ let us gel the fodder before toe buy the horsed 

" I recollect to have heard him (-ays a friend) Once qimto John 3 : 
10. ' For what things soever he (the Father) doeth, these also the Son 



434 



APPENDIX. 



doeth likewise.' Now said he, a boy sees his father make a plough ; 
he falls to work and makes a plough also; but lo! there are Two 
jrtougks. Not so with the work of the Father and the Son. The 
Father makes the world ; the Son docs the same work, he makes 
the world too ; there is but one result— owe world. If God made 
the world, and the Son made the world, who can resist the conclu- 
sion that the Son is God ?" 

In preaching the funeral sermon of a pious, and venerable minis- 
ter, he made the following remark : " Ministers are God's medicines 
for the people. When the physician begins to gather up his medi- 
cines and put them in his saddle-bags, preparatory to his departure, 
the patient begins to feel that his case is desperate : so when God 
gathers up his medicines— takes away his faithful ministers— it 
looks as though the condition of the people is becoming desperate." 



B 

Recollections of one of Mr. Mercer's Sermons, furnished the 
Biographer by tJieREV. W. H. Stokes. 

Hancock Co., Dec. 19, 1843. 
"Dear Brother Mallary, 

I send you the following recollections of a sermon delivered 
by Father Mercer at Clark's Station, Wilkes Co., in the summer of 
1837, from James 4: 12. 'There is one lawgiver who is able to 
save and to destroy.' At this distance of time, I cannot of course 
recollect many of the precise expressions, but I will try to present 
some of the thoughts advanced in that discourse. 

" The venerable preacher remarked in his introduction, that God, 
whom we worship, is a being of infinite perfections. By his omnip- 
otence he has produced all orders of existence, and by the same 
perfection of his character, exercised in connexion with infinite 
wisdom and goodness, he governs all that he has made. It was not 
his purpose, however, to notice the various instances in which the 
truth of this remark would appear, but to invite the attention of his 
hearers to some few of the prerogatives of this One Lawgiver. And 

" I. It was in his power to save. That his hearers might under- 
stand the whole truth upon this subject, it was necessary that they 
should learn to think of the infinite Jehovah as the Moral Ruler of 
the Universe ; or, in the language of the text, as the ' One Lawgiver' 
to the whole of his rational creation. * But,' he added, ' you are 
not to suppose this great Sovereign could have given, with equal 
honor to himself, and equal safety to his subjects, one set of laws as 
well as another. This would have been to deny himself. God is 
infinitely holy as svell as infinitely powerful, wise and good. A law 
that was unholy, or destitute of goodness, would have been unseemly, 
as coming from infinite purity, and therefore, unfit to guard the inte- 
rests of a perfectly holy throne, and to secure the well-being of those 



APPENDIX. 435 

upon whom it was to operate. No law, but one holy, just and 
good, was adequate to the purposes of presenting the claims of the 
* Lawgiver,' or, of exhibiting the duties and obligations of his 
subjects. 

" ' Against such a law as this,' said Father M., in a tone pecu- 
liarly his own, 'we have all sinned. And it is written, Cursed is 
every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of 
the law to do them. A grievous curse rests upon the head of the 
sinner, because he is found guilty of a most grievous offence. He 
has rebelled against infinite majesty, and in that rebellion trampled 
upon the best possible law. And it would seem, nothing but hell 
could be the portion of one guilty of such presumptuous wrong-doing! 
but O surprising grace! the Lawgiver has power to save, and to save 
jo the uttermost all that come unto him.' 

u< It may be worth while,' he continued, 'for us to ascertain as 
far as we can, the grounds upon which this power is exercised. 
And in the first place, it is not by a repeal of the law. This stands 
for ever the same. Secondly, it is not by a modification of the law— 
none of its claims are waived, none of its rigors are softened. But 
it is because the law has been magnified and made honorable by the 
Son of God. By his glorious atonement, the life of the sinner may 
be spared and the throne of justice remain untarnished. Him hath 
God set forth, not only in the view of the world, but in view of the 
whole universe, to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to 
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past 
through the forbearance of God. According to this measure of 
moral government, God can be just and the justifier of him that 
believeth in Jesus.' 

" [Here was given such a view of the nature and ends of the 
atonement, as nearly entranced us all. For myself, though no en- 
thusiast on such occasions, it was with difficulty I could sit still, or 
refrain from shouting aloud. Not that the old gentleman was so 
eloquent, as some would call it, or that he was stormy ; but on ac- 
count of the majesty of his thoughts. I remarked to a brother at 
the close, that every passage in that discourse seemed as heavy as a 
mountain.] 

" Having disposed of the first division of his discourse he pro- 
ceeded in the second place to say, 

" ' II. The Lawgiver hath power to destroy. This is not a derived 
power. It proceeds directly from the essential nature of him who 
wields it. It is not a power assumed arbitrarily. Nor is it ever 
exerted without the best possible reason. We have heard of the 
wrath of God, and of his indignation ; but these are figurative ex- 
pressions. No vengeful, no vindictive feelings, in the strict accepta- 
tion of these terms, ever occupied the divine mind. The sinner 
(lies — it is the legitimate result of law. The wages of sin is 
death. 

1 The law gives sin its damning power.' 

I 1 l Ho who enacts a law and makes it binding must, of course, 
have power to connect a penalty with such law. And we should 
naturally expect, in such a case, the penalty to exhibit tin* import- 
ance of the law, and the dignity of the source whence it came. The 



13(> vrPENDix. 

Most High, In establishing the government of which vvc have brcn 
speaking, certainly acted a pari worthy of himself, set up an insti- 
tution, so to speak, free from all the imperfections which attach to 
things merely human, and for the support of this institution all the 
perfections of his nature were solemnly pledged. In order then to 
present his throne as worthy the allegiance of all loyal subjects, he 
must punish transgressors. He has power to punish them and, he 
will punish them. 

" ' You perceive then,' said the preacher, ' according to the nature 
of law and government, that God has power to destroy the sinner, 
to cast both body and soul into hell. But you flatter yourselves that 
he never will so destroy. How strangely you reason ! Will a holy 
God prove unjust ? Does not every well-arranged government pledge 
itself to the lovers of good order to punish the rebellious ? And shall 
the government of the infinite God be less jealous of its dignity and 
honor than any other ? Let not the sinner deceive himself. The 
fruit of his own doings will most certainly be given him. 

M< But, the power in question has been exercised. Fallen spirits 
feel at this moment the truth of this remark. Every pang ever felt 
in hell is wofnl proof of its truth. Dives, who may be regarded as 
the representation of all thoughtless, reckless sinners, proves it by 
his piteous yet fruitless waiiings. Look at the divine procedure, 
towards the old world. Look at the destruction of Sodom and 
Gomorrah. Korah and his company are slain. Ananias and 
Sapphira are stricken dead. The sword of justice is grasped by the 
hand of Omnipotence. The Lord Jehovah has 'power to deslroy.- 

"In some such strain did that venerable man of God proceed for 
some fifty minutes. E regard the whole performance as one of his 
most masterly efforts." 



The following Obituary Notice of Mrs. Mercer was originally 
published in the Index ; but believing that it will be generally ac- 
ceptable to the readers of this volume, the Biogiapher has thought 
proper to insert it without abridgment. 

" Bro. Slokes; Your readers have seen in the Index, a notice of 
the death of my dear wife, and may have wondered why no accom- 
panying obituary appeared. My reason for this is, that I have 
thought for some time, that Jong publications of this kind are very 
useless things, because seldom read; and the reason of this is, first, 
that the deceased are little known, and for this cause, if no other, 
have not sufficient estimation abroad, to command attention beyond 
the little circle of their relatives and personal acquaintances. And 
secondly, and more particularly, because of the matter of those 
notices. The writers of obituary articles are apt to indulge feelings, 
which lead them to swell their memoirs with the minutia and parti- 
culars of the last illness and death of their deceased friends, which, 
though they may affect the hearts of the immediate connexions, have 
no interest for general readers. 

"However, as my wife was extensively known, and by many, 
highly esteemed, I suppose it is due to them, and to her memory, to 
s;iy something more particularly in reference to her life and death. 



APPENDIX- 437 

I therefore request you to give a place in your columns to the fol- 
lowing memoir of her, and, I presume, you will oblige many of her 
friends and acquaintances abroad, but especially her bereaved hus- 
vban/1, and your companion in a lamentable and distressing widower- 
hood. 

'* Jesse Mercer." 
■' Washington, June 24, 1341." 



"Nancy Mercer, the subject of this notice, was born in Virginia, 
of respectable parents, on the 30th of October, 1772. Her father, 
Mr. John Mills, emigrated to this State soon after the close of the 
Revolutionary war, and settled on Little River, in this county, where 
he raised his daughter in the style and education of those times. 
Her mother was a pious and beloved member of the Baptist Church 
at Ebenezer, and taught her in the way of salvation; to respect reli- 
gion and religious people, especially ministers of the gospel. She 
was married to Capt. A. Simons, February 8th, 1793 By this con- 
nexion she was rushed int.j all sorts of company. Mr. S. was a 
man of wealth and of the world; had a peculiar faculty for the ac- 
quisition of property. This he did very much by trading, which 
drew about him every class of men; besides, he took great pleasure 
in having about him gentlemen of honorable name and worldly pur- 
suits. Mrs. S. in this way was often placed in the society of all 
kinds and conditions of men, which might suit the taste and con- 
venience, or serve the interest of her husband. And although such 
were not the companions of her choice, yet she was always, and un- 
der all circumstances, ready to appear arid seise, and on all occa- 
sions acquitted herself with pleasure to the company, honor to her 
husband, and respect to herself. In this condition she lived for 
man)' years, in the midst of affluence and worldly splendor; but she 
was not satisfied. In retirement, she sought for better joys— joys 
which would satisfy the desire of an immortal spirit', which she 
found not in all the rounds of worldly pleasure. She loved to at- 
tend on the preaching of the gospel of salvation, and hence she was 
uniformly an attendant at all the places of preaching within a rea- 
sonable distance. Mr. S. too, was ve»y polite and accommodating 
to her in this respect; often attended with her. and for her gratifi- 
cation invited ministers home wilh them; in whose company and 
conversation she scorned to take a peculiar pleasure. It was in 
those days she became the subject of deep solicitude and anxious 
concern about eternal realities. She found her soul was lost in sin, 
and she knew not how it was to be saved. She betook herself to 
leading, meditation and prayer, and sought to satisfy her conscience 
by tears of penitence. And for a while, at times, she was encou- 
raged to hope she would bo accepted for her own righteousness. 
But this refuge failed her, because of her short comings, and the im- 
perfection of all her best performances. About this time she heard 
a minister, in whom she placed great confidence, say in preaching, 
" that he did not believe any one would ever obtain hope in Christ, 
till he acknowleged the justice of God in his condemnation.' Then, 
thought she, ' I shall never be converted; for I can never acknow- 
ledge that.' But it was not long before she was ^ exercised aboul 



438 AprENDix. 

the evil of her heart, ns the seat of all her vile affections and wan- 
dering thoughts, and of the evil nature of sin, that she soon came to 
the full and free acknowledgment of what she had thought impossi- 
ble. Under this conviction she knew not what to do. But in her 
distress her mind was turned to Christ crucified, as the only way by 
which a condemned sinner could be justified and saved. And by 
hearing and reading the word of God, and the reference of sundry 
appropriate promises to her case, she was gradually brought to ex- 
ercise hope, and to have some joy and peace in believing. But this 
was interrupted by fears lest she might be deceived, which gave her 
excessive distress. She was called to a new source of trouble about 
this time, by the death of her husband, by which 6he was thrown 
into very afflictive and trying circumstances. These, added to those 
which related to her soul's concerns had well nigh overpowered her, 
and caused her to sink beneath the surges of mental grief and 
worldly trouble. But in her great distress she cried unto God, and 
made supplication to the widow's Judge, and found relief from 
David's soliloquy to his soul in trouble, which came to her recollec- 
tion, as if some one had suggested it, — * Hope thou in God. 1 This 
turned her mind's eye to God, as * the refuge and strength of the 
needy and oppressed in time of trouble,' and comforted and sustain- 
ed her sinking soul for a while at least. 

*f Owing to the death and removal of many of her social and in- 
timate friends in her neighborhood, she determined to remove 10 
Washington, where her civil and religious privileges might be in- 
creased. Here she took great interest in entertaining those minis- 
ters who came to town, or were journeying by. These always found 
a sure and comfortable sojournment with her. From these and the 
ministry of the Word, on which she constantly waited, she sought 
food and comfort for her troubled soul ; for she was still the subject 
of much doubt and uncertainty in reference to her hope of salvation. 
Her fears, lest she might be deceived, often prevailed and filled her 
with deep distress. 

" On the llth of December. 1827, she was married to him, who 
is now bereaved by her lamented death. This connexion gave her 
improved opportunities of attending on the ministry of the gospel, 
and of conversation on the rich provisions of mercy in Christ for 
those who were ready to perish ; by which her faith became si length- 
ened and her hope so confirmed, that in July, 1823, she united with 
the Baptist Church of Christ in this place, and was baptized into 
Jesus Christ, thereby putting on Christ according to the Scripturo 
institution of that holy ordinance. In the enjoyment of the bless- 
ings of this union, and in honor of this profession, made before 
many witnesses, she lived until death. 

" But I should do injustice to her memory, if I were not to say 
something more of her character, at least in a few particulars. I 
notice the following: 

" As a woman — she possessed a noble spirit ; was high-minded 
and generous — candid, open and free in the expression of her senti- 
ments ; having an unusual share of moral courage ; was very jealous 
for her good standing with her friends and brethren ; rather severe 
in her censures, but easily conciliated when the least advances wero 
made, by the adverse party; liberal to profusion ; besides her own 



APPENDIX. 439 

relatives and the industrious poor around her, and those who were 
brought to her knowledge as such, those engaged in building plac« s 
of worship in the country around — they who have held subscriptions, 
or made collections for religious or benevolent purposes; several 
ministers who devoted themselves wholly to the work of the minis- 
try, while their families were left in sufFering circumstances, and 
many others could, if living, rise up and testify to the truth of the 
above statement. 

" As a wife — she wa3 fondly affectionate, ever dutiful, and happy 
to please. 

" As a house-wife — she was industrious, neat and clean. Her 
house and household were always kept in an arrangement of the first 
order — every thing was managed with the most noiseless dexterity 
— her beds were well furnished, and free from those annoyances, 
which often prevent w r eary men from their desired rest — -her table 
was ever crowned with plenty, without luxury — she was always 
affable and polite to her friends and sojourners, it being her delight 
to render all happy and free in her presence. All this is recorded 
in the knowledge and embalmed in the memory of many, very many 
friends, brethren and ministers, who have turned in and partook of 
the hospitalities of her house, if it were but for a night. 

" As a Christian Professor — she was pious, prayerful, and order- 
ly — s he was a lover of the household of God, and of the gospel 
preached there — she was of a discriminating mind in hearing, and 
enjoyed that doctrine most which gave the most honor to God in the 
salvation of sinful men — but still she was a weak believer. Her 
sense of the holiness of God and of the whole plan of the gospel, 
contrasted with her sinfulness, rendered her the subject of prevail- 
ing fears and doubts, as to her acceptance. At times she was able 
to rejoice in hope through the precious and appropriate promises of 
the gospel, suited to her case. It may be said of her, that most of 
her religious life-time, she was subject to bondage, through the fear 
of non-acceptance on account of her unworthiness and sinful in- 
firmities. 

" In her last illness, which was long and trying, no particular 
chancre was apparently effecte din the character of her religious feel- 
ings.^ While she was capable of expressing her desires, or exercis- 
ing her affections, it was evident that they lay on the same objects 
ofpious regard, which had for a long time engaged her undivided 
love. 

" I presume, bro. Stokes, as your readers have known for a long 
time back, that she was in a very distressed state of affliction, so 
that I could not think of leaving her, it will be quite gratifying, at 
least to some of them, to be somewhat informed of the cate. I there- 
fore yield to this persuasion, and give it as follows : 

" In the first week of May, 1838, she was stricken with palsy in 
the entire right side, so that she was prostrate for some time. From 
this she gradually recovered, so as to be able to walk about the house 
and yard, and with help into the garden. She could attend preach- 
ing (which was her chief delight) and enjoy the company of her 
friends. But in the first week of May, 1839, (which is somewhat 
remarkable,) she was stricken in her left side, by which she was 
aid m bed an entire paralytic. From this she recovered so as to 



440 APPENDIX. 

sit up, nnd for a while to feed herself; but even this last use of her- 
eelf soon declined, and she remained unable to walk a step, or even 
stand alone to the day of her death. But this is not the most sad 
part of this tale of wo. Soon after her last attack, symptoms of 
mental disorder evidently appeared, which gradually increased to an 
entire state of derangement. Understanding was darkened. Imagin- 
ation was greatly excited, and assumed the entire control of reason 
and judgment. At times, she was calm and half rational, anon more 
of an idiot than a manioc, but most of her time she was perfectly 
lost to herself and all around her. Pier ideas were the most wild 
and disorderly — her desires, not only unreasonable, but impossible to 
bo gratified — and so for hours — nay, for days and weeks at intervals; 
she would cry for help, or relief in the same case, or wandering from 
one case to another of the same sort, in the most delirious and dis- 
tressing degree. Oh ! my dear brother, you, nor any mortal on earth, 
can conceive what that dear creature suffered in those seasons of 
mental anguish and bewilderment. Those times of extreme agita- 
tion and grief continued to increase both in frequency and violence, 
till it was pleasing to God to interfere, mercifully, thoegh severely, 
by a stroke of his hand in another way. which acted on the surges of 
her tempest-tossed spirit, as the command of Christ on the winds 
and seas, and all her agitations sunk down into a perfect calm. 

"On Sunday, the 16th of last month, about mid-day, she had an 
apoplectic turn, which laid her senseless and speechless for some 
time, and from which she slowly recovered through the afternoon . 
She spent the night following pretty much as usual, in a very rest- 
less and distressed condition. Towards day, she fell, asleep, and 
awoke up the next morning somewhat composed, and continued so 
until the turn of the day, when she became unusually sleepy, and 
was put to bed at an earlier hour on account of it ; and it was said 
by those who sat with her, that she never moved all night. On 
Tuesday morning I inquired of her if she was easy and free from 
pain ; and she said 'yes.' I asked, do you want any thing, and she 
said 'no.' She seemed perfectly composed; and the sisters with 
her were of opinion that she was entirely at herself, and if she could 
talk she would manifest it; but by this time she could speak scarce- 
ly above her breath, or more than yes or no. I was extremely 
anxious to know how she felt, in view of her future state, and ask- 
ing her several questions, so as to ascertain that she understood me ; 
I said 'Nancy, my dear wife, how do you feel, are you satisfied that 
it will go well with you for eternity?' and she said ( no. 1 I replied, 
why ! do you not love the Lord ? and her eyes filling with tears, she 
said ' I hope I do 1 I repeated, 'I love them that love me,' and 
left her. In the afternoon, I again conversed with her, and found 
that understanding still held its place in her mind, when I said, — 
■ How do you now feel, in reference to another world, do you think 
you will be happy there V and she readily replied 'yes.' I added, 
1 do you love the Lord ?' and she said, ' lam sure of that. 1 So far 
as I know, these were the last words she ever spake, except yes, or 
no, to some trivial questions asked her. On Wednesday morning 
sl.e assumed the appearance of one in sound sleep. Her eves were 
fast closed, and h r breathing hard. In this state she continued 
until Friday night, when a change took place, which notified us that 



APPENDIX. 441 

■her departure was nigh. Her dying strife was so gentle as not to 
awake her. At forty-five minutes after ten o'clock, her spirit wa3 
permitted to Jeave its tenement of clay without rending it, and fly to 
its long-sought rest. 

4 This earth is affected no more, 

With sickness, or shaken with pain. 
The war in the members is o'er, 
And never shall vex her again. 

* No anger henceforward, or shame, 
Shall redden this innocent clay; 
Extinct is the animal flame, 
And passion is vanished away*' 

*' The end of the righteous is peace." 



D 

Mr. Mercer's Opinions on various subjects connected with 
Church Discipline, fyc. 

Mr. Mercer's opinions respecting matters pertaining to church 
9rder, associational jurisdiction, and other kindred subjects, were so 
much valued, and so often sought, that many would no doubt consi- 
der a volume claiming to be any thing like a full Biography of this 
eminent man, as radically defective, that did not contain some record 
of these opinions. The writer has therefore thought proper to pre- 
sent in the appendix, some of his views upon these subjects ; believ- 
ing that though this portion of the work may not be as interesting 
tp the general reader as other parts, yet that there are some who will 
consult it with much interest, and great advantage. If the reader is 
not prepared to sanction every opinion of Mr. Mercer's, which is 
here presented, he cannot fail of finding much that will commend 
itself to his judgment as judicious, solid, and useful. 

Discipline. 

(From a Circular Letter published in the Minutes of the Ga, Association, 180C.) 

" That you may be able in this declining day, to possess your ves- 
sels in sanctification and honor before him, who has called you into 
his marvellous light, and in that light shine before others to his praise; 
we would awaken you to, and exhort you to bo promptly active in 
the execution of discipline — discipline, without which there can be 
no union, order, peace or fellowship in the church ; no, nor church 
\tsv\{— discipline, which, in its right use, is the church's ecclesias- 
tical life — bond of union and peace— npring of order and fellow- 
ship — and great source of harmony and love. 

20 



442 APPENDIX. 

u To this important duty and privilege, God opens the ear. Job 
36: 10. And commands it to be sealed among his disciples. Isa. 
8 : 16. 61:4. The prophet Malachi, and John the Baptist, show 
that Christ, in the exercise of this ofiice, would both purge and 
scourge the wicked from among the righteous, so that a clear dis- 
tinction should be mnde and petpetuated between the godly and 
ungodly, the chaff and the wheat. Mai. 3: 1. to the 6, 16, 17, 18. 
Math. 3 : 10 and 12. And Christ discovered both the authority 
and indispensubility of tins duty, when he made a scourge of small 
cords and drove the wicked out of his father's house John 2: 15. 
Due attention to this rale will lead to prosperity, peace and pleas- 
ure. Job 36: It. Isa. 43: IS. Gal. 6:16. But the neglect thereof 
is invariably chastised with declension and destruction. Lake 19 : 42. 
Gal. 5 : 13, to the 17, also read 2d and 3d chapter of Revelation. 

4i Dear brethren, in addressing you on this subject, we shall use 
plainness of speech, and in a simple style, place before you a few 
very plain truths. Gospel discipline involves two very important du- 
ties equally indispensable. 

u The first, is that which each member should discharge towards 
himself. The second, is that which relates to the whole body. 
These may be likewise subdivided. 

" The former includes, first, That restraint which a christian, 
when right with God, places on the passions and propensities of the 
carnal heart, by which he subdues and maintains the victory over 
them: and secondly, that government which he exercises over the 
members of his body, by which he sanctifies them for, and employs 
them in r the service of God. 

" The latter embraces, first, that line of duty to be pursued in case 
of private or personal offence; and secondly, that to be adopted in 
case of public and atrocious crimes. To which we attend in order, 

" And first, to discipline the heart, diligence is enjoined, Prov. 
4 : 23. 2 Pet. 1 : 5 — 10, to show that it is a duty to be performed 
only by promptness and perseverance. It includes three things: 
First, the detecting and crucifying all improper passions, or-desires, 
that is, all which on examination, (and none should pass without 
it,) shall be found contrary to the holiness, and incapable of work- 
ing the glory of God. *Luke 9 : 55. Gal. 5 : 24. Heb. 3 : 12. 
Secondly, the guarding and restraining those affections, which in 
themselves are lawful, bnt are capable of excess, for virtuous, be- 
come vicious desires in the extreme. Eph. 4 : 26. Col. 3 : 5. 
And thirdly, the promoting and pursuing all gracious emotions, as 
leading into the knowledge and service of God. Psa. 19 : 14. 1 Cor. 
14 : L. Eph. 3 : 13—19. 4 : 22—24 

" Secondly: Your bodies are the members of Christ, and temples 
for the Holy Ghost. 1 Cor 6 : 15. 19. Your whole deportment, 
therefore, should correspond with this consideration ; and all the 
members of the body l>e presented as living sacrifices to God, and 
solely employed in his service: or, as a modern poet teaches: 

4 A cov'nant with your eyes be made ; 
Your words he few, or fitly said, 
And seasoa'd well with grace ; 
Be deaf, or ouly hear aright ; 
Your footsteps planted in the light, 
To run the Christian race. 



APPENDIX. 443 

Your hands be pure and rais'd to God » 

Your taste delighted with his word ; 

Be every member his ; 

Delight to smell his rich perfume, 

Which balms the air — will death o'ercome, 

And adds new charms to bliss.' 

"To be able to decide correctly on die affections of the heart, or 
the right use of the members of the body, it will be incumbent to 
cultivate an acquaintance with the laws of nature, grace, and provi- 
dence ; by which the natural, spiritual, and moral fitness of things 
will appear; so that you may approve the things which are excel- 
lent, and be- without offence till the day of Christ. Phil. 1 : 9, 
10, 11. 

44 The second part of discipline teaches the rules of procedure in 
cases of public or private offence ; which should be pursued with 
great exactness, without partiality or hypocrisy. 

44 And first, in case of private offence. Be sure to follow pre- 
cisely the directions of Christ given in Matt. 18 : 15, 16, 17. Tak- 
ing especial care that you do not make that public which is, and 
should be kept private, or that you do not make yourselves guilty, 
in conversing on private subjects to indifferent ppr^o^s. thereby be- 
coming the sowers of discord, or idle, mischievous tale-bearers so 
offensive to God. and destructive of human happiness. Lev. 19 : 16. 
Trov. 11 : 13. 18 : 8. 20 : 19. 25 : 9, 10. 26 : 21,22. This rule 
is particularly binding on the offended, commanding him to imme- 
diate conciliatory measures: but let not the offender think himself 
secure in idleness, nor carelessly wait for his grieved brother to come 
and deal with him; but let him attend to the counterpart of this rule 
in Matt. 5 : 23 to the 26, which shows it to be the duty equally of 
the offender to go and be active in the adjustment of all differences. 
The sooner the better. Rom . 12 : 10, 11. 

44 But secondly, in case of public and scandalous sins. The first 
step to be taken is to reprove, admonish, and in a christian tjdrit, 
endeavor to reclaim the apostate brother from the error of his ways. 
Lev. 19:17. Gal. 6: 1,2, Eph. 5:11. 2 Thes. 3 : 15. 1 Tim. 
5 : 20. Heb. 12 : 13, 14, 15. James 5 : 10. 20. This duty we 
fear is very much neglected from some cause — the want of zeal — or 
perhaps from a prevailing notion that it would be improper to heal 
a public offence, by a private conversation: but however improper 
this might be, we conceive it would be highly proper to heal a pub- 
lic offender by any means the gospel directs. The design however 
of such reproof, &c, is not to cure the offence, but him who gave it; 
that he may may be prepared to remove the offence in that way the 
gospel requires. But should he fail to be reclaimed by this mea- 
sure, and not come to the church to meet, and in the best manner in 
his power, atone for his disorders; then it will be the duty of who- 
ever is concerned in the case, when the church is setting in her offi- 
cial capacity, to bring such person before her bar, or make report of 
the case to her, whose duty it will be to call for, and reckon with 
him according to Matt. 18 : 24 and 31, But in case of gross enor- 
mity, under which the cause of God and the church particularly suf- 
fers, it may be expedient to proceed more promptly according to tho 
case recorded in 1 Cor. 5th chap., which seems to have been done 
without sending for, or attending to the delinquent in any way. 



444 APPENDIX. 

u The great object of discipline is holiness to the Lord. With a 
view to ecclesiastical holiness, it commences cautiously in the re- 
ception of members ; and ends gloriously in consummating them in 
the beauties of practical holiness. In receiving persons carelessly, 
or at the instance of passion, you may corrupt the church, dishonor 
God, and involve yourselves in much distress, confusion, and sin. 
Be careful, therefore, to receive none but those to whom the gospel 
gives a right; Matt. 18 : 3. 5. Acts 5 : 13, 14. 1 Cor. 6 : 17. 
That the church may be visibly what it is really, the pillar and 
ground of the truth, and be presented a chaste virgin to Christ. 
1 Tim. 3 : 15. 2 Cor. 11:2. But we are aware that discipline may 
be so managed as to defeat its own design, and instead of unity and 
peace, produce divisions and strife. A government by majority nat- 
urally tending in important matters, to make parties, and breed 
confusion, should be studiously avoided. Rather be of the same 
mind and judgment; espouse the cause of the weak, or be invaria- 
bly on the part of the aggrieved, whether major or minor ; and let 
unanimity be the bond of your peace. Psa. 133 : 1. 1 Cor. 1 : 
10, 11. 13. Eph. 4 : 2." 

Private Labors should generally precede Church action, 

(From the Circular of the Georgia Association for 1616.) 

•' It has been a custom pretty widely practised, to bring all cases 
of a public and offensive character, whether facts or reports, first 
before the church, that they might be met and treated in a manner 
correspondent with their general and infectious consequences. This 
rule we think exceptionable. 

lt 1st. Because it is defective : for while it provides a remedy of 
the public effects, it proposes no means for the removal of the cause 
of offence. 

"'2d. It fosters neglect: 'Tls founded on the suspension of per- 
sonal intercourse, and consequently on the suspension of brotherly 
love and christian care. — The duty commanded by Paul and James 
to ■ convert and restore such an one,' is totally neglected and set 
aside by this rule. What the Apostles make to be the proper bur- 
den and duty of an individual, is hereby thrown on the church, while 
the members content themselves individually, to be of the number 
who live in error. 

" Perhaps it may be asked, shall we all go ? Indeed, brethren, 
that might be the better state of the case. For admit ' such an one 1 
should be among you ; and you all, one by one, should make him a 
visit, ' in the spirit of meekness,' on that account, in the course of a 
few weeks, would not his heart be broken for his sin ? or would he 
not be left without excuse? And would not that be much better 
than to pass him by, or treat him with neglect/ Surely you will 
answer, it would be belter. 

" 3d. It is uncharitable : it is so distant — so cold — so unfriendly, 
that it is more likely to disgust than reclaim — to harden than soften — 
to exclude than restore. But, 

* 4th. It promotes tale-bearing. In the spirit of the rule con- 
esfed, you feel at liberty to speak freely of srch cases among your 



APPENDIX. 445 

selves, and even to others ; by which you become ' tattlers, whisper* 
ers,' and the sowers of discord, rather than 'peace-makers.'' Wo 
need not tell you that in modern, as well as in ancient times, there 
are many who say, ' report and we will report it.' — That many false 
and virulent tales are often circulated, with celerity, to ruin the char- 
acters, and hinder the usefulness of the best among men. By the 
rule in question, you may become the abettors, and forward the de- 
signs of the most cruel and inveterate men. 



" Exclusion should never be regarded as the result of our endea- 
vors. Every idea of union— the best feelings of the heart, recoil at 
the shocking thought. 'Tis the resort of despair — the dreadful al- 
ternative in case of incorrigibleness, like the amputation of a mortal 
limb, to save the body from its ruinous consequences. 

" There are, however, a few cases which justify and require a re- 
sort to this severe measure, with much less ceremony than others : 
as when a man brought before the church for some notorious crime, 
makes great pretensions to humility and godly sorrow ; and being 
forgiven, goes out and in similar cases, carries himself with ingrati- 
tude and hardness of heart towards his brethren, or in any other 
way proves his acknowledgments before the church to have been 
hypocritical, he may be presented to the church without any per- 
sonal regard shown him, because he has destroyed all confidence in 
himself. As suggested in Matt. 18 : 23, to the end. Also when a 
hypocrite among you does what proves him so, like Simon Magus, 
* in the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity,' he may be cut off 
without any endeavors to reclaim him, because there is nothing, pro- 
perly, to which he can be reclaimed- 

il Likewise, when a man forms any illicit connexion, or commits 
offences which prolong their effects, and which no sudden concessions 
can remedy; as in the case of the incestuous man, he should with- 
out waste of time be ' delivered to Satan for the destruction of the 
flesh,' and that his reformation and the proofs of it might be made 
manifest." 

Are all cases of discipline to be managed and settled by Matt* 
18 : 15—17 ? 

" To this question we answer no, because other scriptures require 
a different treatment. It is evident as there are different causes of 
offence, so there must be a variation of management and termina- 
tion. The above rule, we conceive, provides only for personal and 
entirely private offences ; or cases which lie alone between two 
brethren. For why should secrecy be enjoined in a case, which is 
known openly? Here private intercourse is enjoined in the first 
step, and only to be made public as the case might require. And 
we are of opinion, that if this rule was strictly regarded in all such 
offences, many of those cases would be nipped in the bud, or healed 
in the first intention, which, for the want of it, break the peace, and 
distract our churches with confusion and party strife. But we think 
it would be manifestly for the dishonor of Christ and content of 



446 APPENDIX. 

religion, to attempt to settle cases of public and scandalous offences 
by this rule. However, we are fully persuaded that all cases, as a 
general rule, should commence in personal labors. The follow- 
ing- texts lay this down clearly. Gal. 6 : 1, requires, that, if a bro- 
ther ' be overtaken in a fault,' (i. e. caught,) the other members 
should restore him. And by what follows it is plain that it must 
be done in a tender, careful, sympathizing manner, which cannot be 
done without personal endeavor. 

" This is also inculcated in the allusions made by Paul to the mutual 
sympathy and care which God has given to the members of a nat- 
ural body. 1 Cor. 12 : 25, 26 which cannot be fulfilled, but by the 
most careful and prompt attempt to remedy the cause of suffering, 
according to the laws of brotherly kindness. To this endeavor to 
restore an offending brother, the Apostle James encourages in his 
Epistle, 5 : 19, 20. Here the work of converting an erring brother 
must require personal labor. But though every case must be begun 
in personal intercourse ; yet it is not to end there. Should the 
labors of brethren succeed in restoring the offending brother, he will 
as a matter of course, seek to redress the evil consequences of his 
sinful course, which will require him to come before the church to 
answer publicly to the charges against him, so that the scandal 
may be removed from the church and cause of Christ. Should the 
well timed, and well meant endeavors of the brethren fail, the delin- 
quent must be hailed before the church to answer for his offences. 
This is clearly indicated in Math. 18 : 32. In 1 Tim. 5 : 20. The 
Apostle directs that, they that sin (openly doubtlessly, as private 
sin is otherwise disposed of) are to be rebuked before all, that others 
may fear." 

" There are a few cases which may be pleaded as an exception to 
this rule. They are cases of such enormity as makes ? a speedy ex- 
ecution of discipline necessary to sustain the honor of the cause and 
the church, by making the offender an example of summary punish- 
ment. The instructions to the church at Corinth in regard to the 
incestuous man are in point But we think the cases are few and 
very peculiar, which would justify a personal neglect of the offend- 
ing brother, to restore him to his forfeited standing and lost com- 
forts." 

May a church receive testimony from men of the world ? 

11 It should be kept constantly in mind, that the Church of Christ 
is a body of light, whose office is to shine to those who are without. 
The Apostle tells us that whatsoever maketh manifest is light. 
But how can the church shine unto them, if she shut herself up from 
them, and refuse their testimony without reason ? Would such a 
course be walking towards them either honestly or in wisdom ? The 
object for which testimony is received at all, is to ascertain the truth ; 
but if a church refuse all testimony from without, she will in many 
cases refuse valid evidence, and so obscure the truth, and injure the 
cause of union and fellowship in herself. We will state a case. Sup- 
pose a member is accused of drunkenness and blasphemy, under cir- 
cumstances which, if true, would break fellowship with all the other 



APPENDIX. 447 

members, but the witnesses are two of the most respectable non- 
professors in the neighborhood, whose veracity has not been ques- 
tioned by any — but because they are not members they are refused. 
Now. does this refusal do away the effect of their testimony from the 
minds of the church! Not at all. Then the fellowship of every 
member in the church is lost with this man, but he cannot be exclu- 
ded, because there is no admissible evidence against him. This 
would be an intolerable case. The better way is to hear all, and 
hold fast to that which appears just and good. The church is by 
no means bound to believe all the testimony which may be brought 
in, but should act wisely in weighing the evidence, in ascertaining 
the truth of the case on trial, and coming to a righteous decision," 

Have females a right to vote in the church in matters of disci- 
pline ? 

u To the law and to the testimony then let us go. In 1 Cor. 14 : 
34,35, Paul lays down the following order: ' Let your women keep 
silence in the churches; for it is not permitted unto them to speak; 
but to be under obedience; as also saith the law — And if they will 
learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home : for it is a 
shame for women to speak in the church.' And again he saith, 1 
Tim. 2 : 11 — 14: ' Let the woman learn in silence with all subjec- 
tion. But I suffer not a woman to teach, or usurp authority over the 
man, but to be in silence. For Adam was the first formed, then 
Eve. And Adam was not deceived ; but the woman, being deceived, 
was in the transgression. 1 

*' From these verses, it is generally agreed that women are de- 
barred any participation in the public ministry, and this is the uni- 
form practice (with one solitary exception) of all the denominations. 
But are they not as fairly debarred participation in any exercise of 
authority, or government, which would even put them on a par with 
male members ? There is a sense in which women are not permit- 
ted to speak in the churches; and yet there is a sense in which they 
may speak. Now in what may they not speak ? In teaching and 
governing. For these obvious reasons : 1. The law requires it. 
2. Adam was first formed, then Eve. This gives the man the rule 
and government. 3- The woman, being deceived, was in the trans- 
gression ; indicating her weakness, and affording a reason ever after- 
wards for her being under obedience with all subjection. But in 
what may they speak? In fraying and prophesying, see 1 Cor. 
11:5. Acts 21 : 9. But this prophesying ■, when used by women, 
must not be leaching, but only for edifying. For it is not per- 
mitted to a woman to teach. Now, then, if women are not per- 
mitted to teach and exercise authority in the churches, how can they 
vote in matters of discipline which is government? We are (and 
have been long) of opinion, that women are in the verses above, 
debarred the right of voting in the churches in all matters of govern- 
ment, because they cannot use this right without being on a par with 
men, and in many instances taking the ascendancy, which is at pal- 
pable variance with the obedience and subjection which is required 
of them. 



448 APPENDJA. 

u We suspect it is tlie general practice in the churches of our or- 
der, to allow women this use. But whenever a case of this kind 
has come under our observation, we have noticed an obvious reluc- 
tance in adopting it. And within the sphere of our administration 
they have modestly declined it. We have never had any difficulty 
on this subject with us, and we hope for the sake of the female chris- 
tian character, women in no churches will ever make a difficulty of 
it; and if men should attempt it, in view of honoring them, they will 
have grace enough to rise up with one consent, and pour th • waters 
of pious, modest, and humble contempt upon it and quench it at 
once. ,; 

Is it gospel or duty for one church to receive persons excluded 
from another church simply on account of their heins friend- 
ly to benevolent institutions ? 

11 On the above query we have endeavored to reflect with cool de- 
liberation, and the result of our thoughts leads us to answer it in the 
negative. Exclusion from a regularly constituted church, is in itself 
right. It is the execution of a sentence on the authority of Christ, 
by the only authorized body, and ought to be respected by all orderly 
churches. But as in all human affairs there is a liability to err, 
even churches may become disorderly, and abuse their power, which 
was given for edification, by using it for purposes of destruction, 
The power to exclude may be used improperly in two ways* r first it 
may be executed on proper subjects without a proper cause; and 
secondly, it may be exercised on those over whom there was no ju- 
risdiction. In either case the act is disorderly. In the case befoie 
us, it should seriously be inquired whether exclusion for the causes 
above stated, is legitimately gospel order? If it shall be judged, 
(and we think it must be) that exclusion cannot rightly lie against 
any member, otherwise orderly, for uniting with such societies, or 
being friendly towards them,, then it must be disorderly to exclude 
persons for such causes. The case, then, upon this hypothesis, 
presents an act of violence and disorder in its origin; and as one 
act of disorder may excuse, if not justify another, we are led to the 
conclusion in this, and such like cases,, it would be to choose the 
least of two evils, to receive such persons, not as an orderly, but as 
a necessary act of indemnity against oppression." 

What is the minority of a church to do when the majority (or a 
part of them) become notoriously immoral ? 

" In reply to this question, we are constrained to say that such a 
state of things in a church, once regiilar, is the sheer neglect of a 
godly discipline. For if, when the church was in order, the mem- 
bers all sympathizing with each other, the first buddings of immoral- 
ity in the enormities stated, had been plucked off by the gospel rule, 
such a state of misrule should never have existed. So that the pious 
minority must be deeply involved in the guilty causes of such a case. 
Now, therefore, they, repenting of their past negligence, should ad- 
dress themselves patiently to the work of reformation. In this, they 



APPENDIX. 44& 

should be encouraged, by the promise made to any member in the 
Laodicean church (when in a similar state of decline) to enduring, 
persevering efforts. If these efforts sufficiently tried, fail, let the 
neighboring churches in good order, be called on to labor, to secure 
the desired end : but if, after all, the majority remain incorrigible, 
and refuse to be corrected, then let the minority come out and be 
separate from them, as not being worthy to be acknowledged a- 
church of Christ; but rather as a synagogue of Satan." 

Is it right to exclude an offending brother from the Church by 
a Committee, and for the accusers and witnesses to compose 
a part of that Committee ? 

"We give it as our opinion, that many cases of difficulty which 
come up in churches, may be as well, if not belter, adjusted bv a 
committee of judicious brethren, than by the church assembled ; but 
a committee should never be allowed final action in any case of dis- 
cipline. Committees should always report their actings and doings 
to the church for her confirmation or rejection. And we should 
think common prudence would select others on the committee than 
those concerned in the case to be examined. We are surprised that 
any body of brethren, worthy to be called a church, should place in 
a committee the accusers and witnesses in the case to be investi- 
gated ; and especially when that committee was vested with power 
to excommunicate the supposed offender." 

Ought brethren to go to law with each other ? 1 Cor, 6 : 1 — 8. 

"It is evident the apostle's object in these verses, was to admon- 
ish his brethren against going to law one with another, and to advise 
them to adjust all their civil disputes amongst themselves by refer- 
ence ; and we are by no means disposed to encourage brethren to go 
* to law ; but rather settle their differences among themselves by ref- 
erence. But at the same time it ought to be recollected, that the 
time and change in civil affairs, which seem to have been anticipated 
by the apostle, have long since taken place. Our laws and courts 
are founded on Bible principles. They too are enacted and created 
by us as a republican people. Why, then, should we complain of ill 
usage in being brought before the bar of our own country, to be tried 
by the laws of our own enactment T Although, as we said, we would 
by no means encourage brother to go to law with brother, yet we 
cannot see any thing in this passage which forbids it, under present 
circumstances. At least, we think, before the churches could with 
any propriety, withhold their members from seeking their lights at 
the tribunals of their country, they ought to establish an adequate 
system of administering justice in civil and pecuniary affairs within 
their own bodies." 

What is valid baptism ? 

** On the general principle, we say, as the best conviction of our 
own mind from the scriptures, that the only qualification in the sub- 



450 APPENDIX. 

ject of baptism, required in the Bible is a credible profession of re- 
pentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. 
And as to the administrator, the New Testament lays down directly 
nothing about it; but it is fairly to be inferred, that he should be a 
man ordained to minister in holy things; of orderly walk and gospel 
faith. But the question will be asked, what shall his faith be ? We 
reply ; from analogy, it would seem his faith should be in perfect 
harmony with that of the subject's. He must believe in repentance 
and faith, as required by scripture, in order to baptism ; and baptize 
the subject, in faith, into Jesus Christ according to the faith of the 
gospel. 

il What other degrees of faith may be requisite to a sound theolo- 
gical faith, we pretend not now to say ; but to a gospel, valid bap- 
tism, we cannot see any thing else necessary, as to faith, but an ac- 
cordance of belief in administrator and subject, and that that be what 
the gospel requires. 

" And in regard to C. W. or any other minister, who may have 
adopted some articles of faith (say Unitarian,) which dissolves his 
denominational connexion with the regular Baptists, but yet retains 
his orderly christian character and his belief in the gospel require- 
ments in order to baptism, and baptizes into the faith of Christ, ac- 
cording to the scripture, we cannot see why his baptisms should not 
be admitted as valid ; because his faith and practice are acknow- 
ledged to be good, and he is uncondemned so far as baptism is con- 
cerned. And we do not see how unsoundness in articles of faith, 
which have no regard to the administration of ordinances, can affect 
the validity of their administration." 

Is it consistent, expedient, or proper, to baptize persons when 
they avow it as their intention to join some other denomina- 
tion ? 

11 Our opinion upon this subject is that Baptist ministers should « 
forbear. The inconsistency of these persons, of itself, is sufficient to 
warrant such a course. They would be regularly baptized upon a 
profession of their faith, and yet retain a connexion with those who, 
it would seem from their conduct, they think are not baptized ! 
What does it signify to hold right views ourselves, and to practise 
accordingly, and at the same time connive at error in others by being 
connected with them in a church capacity ? We are decidedly of 
the opinion, that to baptize, under such circumstances, is not ' con- 
sistent, expedient, or proper.' 

11 It is certainly desirable to commune with those we think are 
christians ; but to do this, we must not compromit truth, or encou- 
rage others to hold it in unrighteousness." 

The use of the Violin. 

(From a Letter to a Friend.) 

" You may ask me, if there is any evil in a fiddle or its use? I 
answer, perhaps no more than there is in an idol, or in meats offered 



APPENDIX. 451 

in sacrifice to an idol. Yet it is evil for any man to eat or play 
with offence. Though you may have the knowledge that these 
things are simple and innocent, j'et all good christians have not, and 
will be grieved with your meat, or playing the fiddle. If, then, you 
persist, you walk uncharitably towards your weak brethren, and will 
be condemned by the apostle, Rom. 14 chap., latter part, and 1 Cor. 
8 : 9 — 13. I trust you will digest this matter according to this rule, 
and act accordingly, as one who must give account. 

"But it is not certain that the use of the fiddle is innocent, be- 
cause things are always estimated according lo their accustomed 
use. The fiddle has, within my knowledge, been mostly used in 
parties of pleasure, or in dancing assemblies, sumptuous feasts, and 
balls, &c, and not in the worship of God; so that its use will be 
associated with these in the mind, and therefore tend to strengthen 
them. But if the viol of scripture is the violin or fiddle of our day, 
it is never mentioned but in connexion with such things as are an 
abomination to God ! 

" There is wo pronounced against those that invented to them- 
selves instruments of music like David — perhaps the fiddle is one ! 
I know of no instrumental worship approved in the New Testament 
in the church of Christ, and am of opinion it is too doubtful to be 
patronized. ' He that doubteth is damned if he eat,' &c I trust 
you will strive to do good and not evil in all you do — study the 
apostle's advice, that whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever you 
do, do all to the glory of God." 



Divorce, 

Mr. Mercer (contrary to the opinion of many divines,) con- 
tended that under the gospel dispensation no act whatever disannuls 
the marriage contract, so as to allow a remarriage of either of the 
parties. Matt. 5 : 32, and other parallel passages he considered as 
simply an exposition of the Jewish law as it was originally given by 
Moses, but which had become sadly perverted by human traditions. 
The exception there made in case of adultery, he did not conceive 
to be incorporated with the gospel law of marriage* 



Usury. 

This he considered a " vexed question," admitting much to be 
said on both sides ; but as for himself he stated that he had never 
gained his consent to receive more than lawful interest for money 
loaned, and he advised all his brethren to pursue the same course. 
It is to be regretted that on this subject Mr. Mercer did not take 
a more decided stand. The loaning of money at an exorbitant in- 
terest, has been a most serious evil to the country, and it would seem 
that the christian, who by his profession acknowledges his subjec- 
tion to "the powers that be," ought not to feel at liberty to violate 
the law of the state. If the laws regulating this matter are unwise, 
let them be modified, or repealed ; but whilst they remain as they 
are, let them be honored. 



152 APPENDIX. 



Feet Washing. 

" In regard to washing the saints 1 feet 11 says Mr. Sherwood, 
* his opinion was that it should be attended whensoever brethren 
desired to exhibit a token of friendship for one another. This cere- 
mony was attended to once in the meeting-house at Eatonton on Sab- 
bath evening, while he was pastor. It was with great hesitancy that 
I yielded to his request to wash mine. A few years after, when it 
was attempted to prove it to be an ordinance, and to be observed in 
connexion with the Lord's Supper, he ceased the use entirely. He 
did not regard it as an ordinance, nor to be attended to with the 
Eucharist. He did not, so far as I could learn, engage in it for 
some fifteen years prior to his death. He looked upon it as a social 
duty among brethren." 

Chastisement of Christian Servants. 

It was his opinion that servants in the church ought to be dealt 
with and excluded before they were chastised by their masters. 

Prerequisites to Ordination. 

u 1. He (a proper candidate for ordination,) must be regenerate 
and born of God. 

u 2. He must be of good report, both in and out of the church. 

" 3. He must be called of God to the work : and, 

" 4. He must have gifts suitable to the discharge of the duties of 
the office." 

Meaning of Ordination. 

il The meaning of ordination is, that the individual ordained is 
approved as a minister of God, and sent forth, endued with power 
from on high, to preach the gospel and administer its ordinances, 
wherever he may be called in the providence of God." 

The Manner of Ordination. 

11 The manner of ordination will be found in those rites and cere- 
monies used by the apostles in setting men apart to the gospel min- 
istry — and these appear to be 

" 1. Designation. To ascertain whom God has called and fitted 
for the work is an important part in ' the manner of ordination.' 
This lies at the foundation. It is the preservative of a sound and 
spiritual ministry. * * * 

" But it may be asked vvhose'duty is it ? It is answered even na- 
ture teaches us that the church has the first concern in this import- 
ant duty. She is the mother. It must be hers to rear her sons in 
the service of God, according to their several ability. * * * But 
the work of designation stop3 not here. Ministers, especially pas' 



APPENDIX. 453 

tors, have a very responsible part in this business ; they are the 
watchmen on the walls, have the care of the churches and the min- 
istry both in their hands. Responsible office ! 

"2. Examination. * * * If a man must desire the office, be 
apt to teach and blameless, these things must be inquired into. But 
by whom shall the examination be conducted? By the church? 
By no means; (the church is the only proper judge of character;) 
but by the Presbytery, or session of Elders. * * * And if all (both 
church and presbytery) are unanimously and comfortably agreed, 
(for there must be no schism in this case) that the thing is of the 
Lord, then let the presbytery proceed ; 

" 3. By prayer and fasting (the church uniting in these) with the 
laying on of the hands of the presbytery, (or of one on the part of 
the rest) to set him apart to the great work of the ministry. 

***** 

" From the scriptural account we have of this rite in ordination to 
church, or ministerial offices, (for it is used in both,) and from the 
fitness of its meaning to convey the sense of the presbytery in ap- 
proving and receiving a fellow-brother into the ministry; and from 
its being the only outward sign used in ordinations, recorded in the 
practice of the apostles, we are decidedly of opinion it should never 
be wanting in the manner of ordination among us." 

Ministerial aid in ordination necessary to ministerial fellow- 
ship. 

In reply to one differing from him in opinion, Mr. Mercer remarks 
as follows : 

M It may be proper to say a little on the necessity of ministerial 
aid in ministerial investiture, in order to ministerial fellowship. 
This you rightly define to be ' the union and recognition of brethren, 
who have, in accordance with divine direction, been regularly in- 
ducted into the ministerial office.' This is very just. And when 
evidence of this is '■ satisfactorily obtained,' union, recognition, and 
cordial acceptance will be secured. But can mere church compe- 
tency effect this object ? Ministers of different countries can have 
fellowship, readily and cordially, only as they have confidence in the 
competency and authority of the body who invested them with the 
ministerial office. But is the scheme of mere church appointment 
to that office capable of such confidence ? The ministry is to minis- 
ters, what the church is to common brethren; and a man might a9 
soon be introduced to the fellowship of the church, without being re- 
ceived by the members of the church, or some other in whom they 
had full confidence, as any one can be brought into the fellowship of 
the ministry without being received by the members of the ministry. 
The capacity of a church to inspire and sustain the necessary confi- 
dence to secure ministerial fellowship, will more fully appear by con- 
sidering what a church may be. It is not fixed, I believe, what 
number of members may constitute a church. But very few, two or 
three, a single family, a bare sufficiency to carry on discipline ; let 
us fix at seven. How can this church afford confidence in iheftness 
of her appointments to the end of the woild? It cannot reasonably 
be! But your scheme is less tenable, when it is recollected, that it 



454 APPENDIX. 

renders the ministerial office elective. Then in that case, not seven, 
but four against three (and these three may be the strength of the 
church,) appoints one of themselves to the office of gospel minister. 
Is it possible that such an appointment can give to any one an au- 
thoritative claim on all churches and ministers, to their cordial ac- 
ceptance and brotherly companionship ? * * * Besides the door 
it would throw wide open to vile speculation and base electioneering 
in reference to the gospel ministry. ' Men of corrupt minds — of 
cunning craftiness, who lie in wait to deceive,' and all high-minded, 
self-complacent, and designing men would find it easy to operate on 
these small and weak churches, an influence favorable to their base 
designs. Once establish it as the accredited rule. ' that the church 
has the only and the sole authority' to induct into the ministerial 
office, and that it is elective, and that instant you have opened the 
floodgates to error, and exposed the church to divisions, feuds, strife 
and destruction ! 

The duty of the Churches in relation to the gifts of their mem- 
hers. 

[(From a Report prepared for the Ga. Association.) 

" First. Let it be held, in all the churches, as the sacred and 
unrestrained right of any male member, of orderly deportment, to 
exercise himself in the use of any gift he may think given him of the 
Lord, in exhortation or doctrine, for the edification and comfort of 
his hearers. 

" Secondly. Let it be regarded as the bounden duty of the 
churches, to have a godly care over such members, and to judge 
prudently and faithfully of the usefulness of their exercises. And 
after a. fair trial, if any should appear unprofitable, to forbear them 
in love ; if any mischievous, to stop them ; and if any should be found 
useful in any degree, encourage them, and when their profiting is 
manifest at home, commend them to the neighboring churches and 
ministers. 

" Thirdly. Let the ministers in the churches, especially the pas- 
tors, be careful to notice and encourage such licentiates in the exer- 
cise of their gifts, and in connexion with the churches, endeavor to 
prepare and ripen them for ordination, so that their profiting may 
appear to all, and that they are, in the office of gospel ministers, 
workmen not to be ashamed. 11 

11 Resemblances and Differences between church authority, and 
that of an Association." 

"I. Resemblances. — 1. Church authority is competent, in a 
judgment of charily, to receive or refuse any, who apply for mem- 
bership, according to the requirements of the gospel — so the Associ- 
ation has the right to judge of the soundness of any church, applying 
v for reception, and to receive or refuse her accordingly, in conformity 
with the bonds of Associational union. 

u 2. The church by her authority is bound in duty to watch over 
and preserve her members in purity of faith and practice according 
to godliness — so the Association ha3 power to keep a jealous guard 



APPENDIX. 455 

over the churches in union, to preserve them in unity and peace, 
according to the covenanted rules of agreement. 

" 3. Church authority is restricted to the members of her own 
body — so the Association has power over no church, beyond those 
of her own connexion. 

" 4. Church authority can do nothing but what is in accordance 
with the plain dictates of God's word — so an Association is bound 
to exercise her power by the principles of sacred morality, in viola- 
tion of no scripture requirement. But — 

"II. Differences. — 1. Church authority is from Christ, as 
Head and King alone; but that of an Association is from the churches 
only. 

"2. Church authority extends to every member individually; 
but that of an Association has nothing to do with the government of 
individuals, as such, but regards churches alone, according to the 
articles of union. 

" 3. Church authority is competent to the examination of refrac- 
tory members — to deliver them to Satan — to render them as heathen 
men or publicans; but an Association has no excommunicatory au- 
thority — no, not of a church! This belongs to Christ, as Head ex~ 
clusively. See Rev. 2:5. 3 : 16. No church, Association, or ec- 
clesiastical body, has any power to excommunicate, or injure, or 
unchurch a church of Christ ; or even to dissolve one. 1 his last 
act can only be done by the mutual consent of the members, by 
whose will alone they were constituted a church. 

" 4. Church authority extends over ministers. The church has 
primary and final jurisdiction over them as members. She alone can 
call them out, and (by the aid of a presbytery) ordain them ; and 
for false doctrines or immoral conduct, stop them from preaching 
and even excommunicate them; but an Association has no power 
over a minister to call, ordain, censure, stop, or exclude him, but 
only through the authority of the church of which he is a member. 

" 5. Church authority commands her members, and for disobe- 
dience disciplines them ; but an Association can act only, as an ad- 
visory council to the churches in cases of difficulty." 

Ministerial aid not absolutely necessary at the constitution of 
a church, or an association, 

" We have never seen one syllable on the subject of a presbytery 
for the constitution of a church or an association. And never till 
lately knew that it was sine qua non to either being received as or- 
derly bodies. We have no objection to ministers attending the con- 
stitution of churches and associations, as a matter of expediency; 
but to make their presence and office indispensable, is to set up a 
regulation nowhere to be found in scripture, and consequently to be 
prudent above what is written. What constitutes, in our judgment, 
any number of believers in Christ a church, is their coming together 
into one body, according. to the rules and faith of the gospel. And 
wheresoever any body of professed christians is found so walking to- 
gether, they should be acknowledged and received as a true church. 
And when any number of gospel churches agree to be united into 
one body, to act more efficiently in the cause of God, they should be 
received into correspondence unhesitatingly." 



JUL 3 19C5 



C ORRECTIONS. 



A? This volume has been p a wning through the press, the printer has made 
« few mistakes, none of them however of much importance. The principal 
one noticed in the following list (with perhaps one or two others) resulted 
from the oversight of the Writer when correcting his materials for the press. 
On page 16, bottom line, for North Carolina, read Wilkes Comity. 
Page 56, bottom line, for church, read churches. 

4th line from top, for 9th terse, read Sth terse. 
Page 107. for 5, L. B-ooks. read I. L. Brcokes. 
Page 137, 7th line from :op. for contribute, read contributed. 
Page 155, 9th line from bottom, for identifying himself 'in, read identify- 
ing himself icitJu 

T:h line from Medic cy. read Midtcay. 

P-.r-r 241, 2d line from top, for resulted, read revolted. 

discipline, read godly disci- 
pline. 
Pege 435. the printer by mistake omitted the letter v. hkL 
signate Appendix 0. 




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